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THE 


^<-^Oi^:  C^ 


COLONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DIIER. 


EDITED   BY 


Capt.   CHARLES   KING, 


U.  S.  ARMY. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

L.  R.  HAMERSLY  &   CO., 

15  lo  Chestnut  Street. 

1890. 


Copyright,  1890,  by  L.  R.  Hamersly  &  Co. 


AN  ARMY  PORTIA. 

By  Captain  Charles  King,  U.  S.  A. 


READY  NOV.  20TH,  1890. 


A  thrilling-  story  of   Love  aud  War,  and  altogrether 

the  most  absorbing  and  entertaining  Novel 

that  Captain  King  has  written. 

FOR  DASH  AND  DRAMATIC  EFFECT  IT  HAS  NO  SUPERIOR. 

Now  ready,  and  published  in  uniform  style  with  the  above : 
"From  the  Banks,"  "Dunraven  Ranch,"  and  "Two  Soldiers." 
Mailed  to  any  address  in  the  U.  S.  or  Canada,  on  receipt  of 

25  CENTS  EACH. 

Address  LIPPINCOTT'S  MAGAZINE,  PHILADELPHIA. 


CMPTHIN    BL-MKE. 

By  CAPTAIN  CHARLES  KING, 

Author   of    "Starlight   Ranch,"    "taramle,"    "Marion's   Faitli,"    etc. 

WITH  ILLDSTRATIONS.   12M0.    EXTRA  CLOTH,  $1.25. 


This  Novel  is  written  in  Captain  King's  usual  sprightly  and 
attractive  vein.  In  it  we  breathe  the  fresh  and  bracing  air  of  the 
plains,  and  are  thrilled  now  and  then  by  the  adventures  common 
to  frontier  lite  aud  Indian  warfare. 

In  the  quieter  times  of  peace  we  enjoy  the  social  amenities  of 
camp  life,  with  a  due  sprinkling  of  flirtation  and  love,  in  dealing 
with  all  of  which  Captain  King  is  an  adept. 

The  illustrationa  have  been  especially  prepared  under  the 
author's  supervision,  and  add  an  attractive  feature  to  the  volume. 

MAILED  ON    RECEIPT  OF   PRICE  TO   ANY   ADDRESS. 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  CO., 

.^  F'HILA.DELF'HI.A.. 

Mi8()49 


WOLFF  <5^  RANDOLPH'S 

CHRISTMAS  GREETING 

To  iheir  Friends  of  the  Army: 

WARM  HEARTS,  WARM  HANDS  and  WARM  FEET. 

The  latter  liclp  wonJrously  to  iiisure  the  former,  and  to  secure  Warm 
F*eet  provide  yourself  with 

Wolff's  ACME  Blacking 

FOR 

Boots,  Shoes,  Harness  and  Aeeoutrements. 

OPINIONS  OF  SO>EE  FEW  THAT  HAVE  USED  IT. 

.   „  FuRT  Mi-LA.DE,  Dakota,  September  5, 1888. 

Messrs.  Woi.rr  &  RANPOi.rn:  .  r  j     • 

My  troop  will  s-.on  arivo  at  its  new  Kfation,  Fort  Keogli,  Montana,  and  I  desire 
to  have  the  men  sujiplied  with  Acme  Blacking.  Send  me  t«  Fort  Keogh,  so 
that  it  mav  be  there  on  mj'  arrival, one  gro.ss.  Payment  will  be  made  on  receipt  of 
same.  'I'h'is  blacking  was  used  by  my  troop  last  winter,  at  Fort  Davis,  Texas,  where 
it  wa-s  kept  at  the  Post  Canteen.  ^apt.  EDWARD  E.  WOOD,  8th  Cavalry. 

^  .   „  FoBT  Riley,  Kans.\.8,  October  10,  1887. 

Messrs.  Wolft  A  Randolph:  ,'  ^     . 

After  completing  a  march  of  48  daj-s,  with  my  Saddle  and  other  Equipments 
dressed  with  your  Acme  Blacking,  I  can  say  the  result  is  all  and  more  than 
one  can  desire.    It  is  in  use  throughout  the  Garrison. 

Corp.  T.  WHITE,  Troop  C,  7th  Cavalry. 

,,  ,,,  .   o  Fort  Bufoed,  Dakota,  October  10,  1888. 

M ESSRS.  ^\  OLFF  &    RANDOLPH:  '  ' 

1  cannot  praise  Acme  Blacking  too  much,  as  it  is  all  that  can  be  desired. 
Our  regiment  made  a  four  months  march  last  summer,  from  the  Rio  Grande  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  a  distance  (.f  2:i0it  miles.  Before  starting  on  this 
campaign,  I  dressed  my  saddle  with  Acme  Blacking,  and  at  the  end  ot  the  march 
it  looked  like  new  beside  the  others.  I  consider  it  indispensable  to  the  cavalryman. 

ANDREW  JOHNSON,  Co.  K,  8th  Cavalry. 


Messrs.  Wolff  &  Randolph:  F°«^  ^^'''O^".  ^^^^'^^  October  11,  1888. 

In  regard  to  Acme  Blacking,  I  take  pleasure  in  stating  that  it  is  the  very 
best  I  have  ever  used  for  Saddles  and  Equipments,  and  one  which  every  Cavalry- 
man should  use.  ?,cx^i.  ERNEST  VON  LORENZ,  Troop  K,  8th  Cavalry. 

„,  .   „  Washington  Barracks,  D.  C,  November  25, 1888. 

Messrs.  Wolff  k  Randolph  : 

I  consider  Acme  Blacking  the  best  in  the  world  for  shoes. 

Sergt.  C1I.\S.  B.  DANA,  Light  Battery  C,  3d  Artillery. 


Sent  in  screw  top  boxes  by  mail  to  every  one  who  will  mention  this 
book,  and  enclose  15  cents  to  covev  the  cost  of  postage. 

N.  B. — This  book  must  be  mentioned  or  the  15  cents  will  be  returned,  as  the 
regular  price  by  mail  is  35  cents. 

WOLFF  &,  RANDOLPH, 

927  North  Front  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


THE  COLONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 


INTRODUCTION. 


At  sunset  on  the  24th  of  December  the  commanding 
officer  of  Fort  Blank  was  mentally  as  blue  as  the  trousers 
of  his  pet  orderly  and  facially  black  as  the  self-same 
orderly's  boots— minus  the  shine.  The  north  mail  was 
just  in,  borne  by  a  half-breed  Sioux  on  a  more  than  half- 
starved  pony,  and  thereby  came  the  news  that  three 
officials  high  in  repute  and  moderately  so  in  rank  in  their 
respective  corps  would  arrive  late  on  the  following  day 
and  spend  the  night  at  the  post.  They  had  been  far  to 
the  northward,  "investigating"  at  the  Agencies  along 
the  Wakpa  Washtay,  and  had  not  even  found  a  reason 
for  the  misnomer.  Ever\'body  who  was  ever  there  be- 
lieves that  the  water  of  that  fabled  stream  was  good  only 
when  skillfully  diluted.  They  had  started  for  the  distant 
railway,  hoping  to  reach  their  domestic  friends  by  Christ- 
mas Day.  But  bad  luck  befell  them.  A  gale  and  blind- 
ing snow-storm  swept  over  the  northwest  from  Boulder 
to  the  Black  Hills.  Their  driver  lost  the  way— first— 
and  the  mules  next.  The  party  camped  in  a  canon 
'■  until  the  clouds  rolled  by  " — were  found  and  towed  into 
an  outlying  cantonment  b)^  a  scouting  band  of  troopers, 
and  now,  here  they  were  "coming  to  roost  in  my 
rookery,"  said  the  Colonel,  "when  I  haven't  even  a  crow 
to  pick  with  them." 

5 


6  THK   C0IX)NEL'S   CHRISTMAS   DINNER. 

,*,      ''>'»»     ••         ••- 

But  this  was  not  the  sum  total  of  his  troubles.  There 
was  worse  news — or  lack  of  news,  which  meant  bad  news 
in  this  case — from  the  south.  He  had  planned  a  quiet 
little  dinner — just  half-a-dozen  of  his  cronies  and  favorites, 
and  indeed  there  was  but  scanty  room  for  more — the  in- 
vitations had  been  issued  and  accepted  ;  his  worthy  help- 
mate and  their  eldest  daughter  were  already  deep  in  pre- 
paration :  when  lo  : — the  fact  he  had  to  face  on  Christmas 
Eve  was  that  Christmas  Day  was  apt  to  bring  him  double- 
loaded  tribulation.  The  same  storm  that  brought  him 
extra  guests  had  blocked  the  coming  of  the  extra  dinner. 

Fort  Blank's  market-town  lay  just  about  a  hundred 
miles  away,  when  the  skies  and  roads  were  clear,  and  just 
about  a  thousand  when  the}'  weren't.  The  oj'sters,  the 
turkeys,  the  celery,  the  cranberries,  the  fruits  ordered  sent 
by  the  stage  due  at  Blank  at  4  p.m.  on  the  24th,  were 
stuck  in  the  snow-drifts  an  indefinite  distance  south. 
Even  the  telegraph  couldn't  find  them. 

When  a  man's  in  trouble,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  the 
quicker  he  tells  his  wife,  the  sooner  it's  over.  The  Colo- 
nel went  home  overcome  with  the  weight  of  his  woe.  For 
a  moment  his  better  half  was,  apparently,  as  prostrated  as 
himself— no  woman  likes  to  have  a  dinner-party  ruined, 
either  by  having  too  little  to  eat  or  too  many  to  eat  it — 
but  no  sooner  did  she  note  his  profound  dejection,  than 
she  arose  to  the  occasion. 

"  Never  mind.  Colonel,  the  missing  dinner  will  turn  up 
in  time,  and  if  it  doesn't,  we'll  make  them  so  welcome, 
after  their  hard  trip,  that  anything  will  taste  good.  And 
then,  5'ou  know,  there's  the  champagne  we  were  saving 
for  Dot's  wedding.  It  will  cover  a  multitude  of  sins — 
like  charity.     Don't  you  worr>^     I'll  manage  it." 

And  she  did. 

That   woman   was   a  marvel   of   energy,    pluck,    and 


IXTRODUCTIOX.  7 

resources.  She  trotted  over  through  the  gloaming  to  her 
especial  crony,  the  Major's  kindly  wife,  catching  the 
children  peeping  over  the  balusters  ready  to  scream  with 
ecstasy  at  the  sight  of  a  possible  Santa  Clans. 

She  had  brief  consultation  with  her.  She  hurried  down 
the  line  to  the  bachelor  dens  and  pounced  on  Mr.  Briggs, 
who,  though  devoted  to  "  Dot,"  was  as  yet  understood  to 
be  on  terms  of  probation.  There  wasn't  anything  Briggs 
wouldn't  do  for  her— now,  at  least — and  Briggs,  before 
tattoo,  was  riding  away  through  the  glistening  moonlight 
over  the  rolling  expanse  of  snow  "scouting  for  that  din- 
ner"'  with  an  all-night  jaunt  before  him.  '  She  had  roused 
the  sympathies  of  the  garrison.  Strangers  are  coming- 
all  unexpected — but  must  be  welcomed. 

It  is  a  characteristic  of  frontier  life  that  the  verj-  men 
and  women  who  entertain  and  express  at  times  most  un- 
flattering opinions  of  their  neighbors,  from  the  "CO." 
down  to  the  "  Sub,"  will  turn  to,  when  the  honor  of  the 
garrison  is  at  stake,  and  help  them  out  to  the  extent  of 
their  spoons,  salad  forks,  their  most  treasured  china — 
their  last  cent,  and  Fort  Blank  rallied  to  a  woman  to  the 
support  of  the  Colonel  and  his  energetic  wife. 

All  through  the  crisp,  sparkling  sheen  of  the  moonlit 
evening,  dark,  muffled  forms  were  flitting  from  house  to 
house  along  the  lines  of  officers'  quarters.  Little  pack- 
ages of  gifts — home-made,  perhaps,  but  loving— were  left 
for  the  children  ever\-where,  and  then  there  was  perpetual 
stamping  of  overshoes  on  the  Colonel's  porch  and  laugh- 
ing greetings  of  party  after  party  that  came  trooping  in — 
ever}'body  bringing  material  aid  and  comfort. 

And  so  before  midnight  the  modest  little  dinner  origi- 
nally proposed  developed  into  a  phenomenal  "spread." 
Even  by  tight  squeezing,  which  the  jolly  subalterns  ad- 
vocated, not  more  than  ten  people  could  be  seated  in  the 


8  THK   COLONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

frontier  dining-room,  but  "  hang  the  dining-room  !"  said 
the  Major.  "  Set  a  long  table  down  this  side  of  the  house 
— one  end  in  the  dining-room — t'other  in  the  parlor. 
Knock  out  the  folding  doors,  of  course — levy  on  all  the 
flags,  curtains — Navajo  l)lankets,  lap  robes,  crazy  quilts 
and  Indian  shawls  and  their  imitations  in  garrison.  Call 
in  the  combined  resources  of  the  bachelors'  mess  and  pri- 
vate establishments — and  I'll  bet  you  will  make  such  a 
dazzling  table  of  it  that  even  if  we  haven't  turkey  and 
quail  enough  to  go  round  they  won't  notice  it.  Then 
just  fall  to  and  decide  how  many  of  us  you  want  to  ap- 
pear, and  we'll  turn  out  in  our  best  bib  and  tucker  and 
the  old  house  will  fairly  sparkle." 

The  Colonel's  wife  sprang  up  and  seized  the  speaker's 
hands.  "Just  what  I  hoped  for,  only — we'll  have  to 
borrow  so  much." 

"  Borrow^  anything  we've  got,  and  I'll  throw  in  more 
than  a  gallon  of  that  old  Amontillado  of  mine  to  boot." 

''Major  !  That  precious  sherry  ?  You  are  simply  too 
generous ! ' ' 

"  Not  a  bit  !  I'll  be  here  to  help  drink  it  and  I'd  love 
to  see  their  faces  as  they  sip  it." 

The  Major's  wife  would  have  embraced  him  then  and 
there,  but  time  was  precious.  His  enthusiasm  was  con- 
tagious, and  this  was  the  result.  The  bachelors'  mess 
contributed  nem.  co7i.  two  dozen  plump  quail  from  their 
larder  and  enough  celery  to  make  "salad  for  sixty." 
Captain  and  Mrs.  Winston  begged  that  they  might  be 
represented  by  half-a-dozen  bottles  of  some  prized  Chateau 
Yquera  they  had  stored  away  for  special  occasions.  The 
Waynes  trotted  out  some  dusty  flagons  of  Pape  Clement 
which  the  Captain  had  laid  away  when  servdng  in  New 
Orleans.  McManus,  the  jovial  post  trader,  appeared  with 
a  brace  of  bottles  of  his  ' '  warranted  twenty  years  old  S. 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

O.  p.,  Curniel — and  iver)^  limoii,  fig,  nut,  raisin  or 
dhrop  there  is  in  the  house."  Fhiids  were  after  a-11  the 
hardest  things  to  provide  for  :  that  is  to  say,  fluids  of 
suitable  quality,  and  yet  this  was  galore. 

"By  Jove  !  "  said  the  Colonel,  "This  isn't  my  dinner. 
It's  the  whole  post  that's  doing  it."  But  no!  said  the 
post.  "It's  the  Colonel's  Christmas  dinner,  and  we  are 
only  too  glad  to  help. ' ' 

And  lo  !  What  transformation  scene  was  wrought  by 
Christmas  afternoon.  Briggs  had  found  the  stage  thirty 
miles  out  and  had  replaced  its  battered  team  by  the  well- 
fed  mules  he  had  taken  along.  By  noon  its  precious 
cargo  was  landed  at  the  Colonel's  kitchen,  where  half-a- 
dozen  ladies  were  at  work.  Mrs.  Waring  had  assumed 
charge  of  the  cake  and  pastry  department.  Captain 
Wayne's  accomplished  wife  was  up  to  her  lovely  elbows 
in  flour.  The  Adjutant's  better  half  was  out  in  the 
snow  superintending  the  manufacture  of  orange  ice  and 
chocolate  cream  (a  whole  box  of  McManus's  Floridas 
was  squeezed  into  those  freezers  and  ' '  divil  a  cint  would 
he  iver  take  ").  The  Q.  M.  Department  had  knocked  up 
a  temporar>^  kitchen  in  the  back-yard,  where  a  big  range 
was  already  firing  up,  and  haunches  of  "black  tail"  and 
a  saddle  of  venison  were  hanging  in  the  frosty  air  ready 
for  their  turn.  Over  at  Mrs.  Morton's  the  soup  had  been 
simmering  ever  since  tattoo  the  night  before — two  troopers 
from  the  "  Grays"  on  watch  over  it  lest  the  fire  get  too 
hot  or  too  low. 

Nobody  could  beat  the  Quartermaster's  wife  in  the 
preparation  of  coffee — that  was  to  be  her  province  when 
the  time  came.  And  as  for  delicious  jelly,  there  was 
bonny  Mrs.  Prime,  the  Doctor's  wife,  with  him  away  till 
the  stage  got  in,  and  then  it  was  too  late  for  him  to  pro- 
hibit the  expenditure  of  certain  hospital  stores  which  he 

1* 


10  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

aftenvards  very  gladly  rcj^laced  from  personal  funds.  And 
so  all  was  bustle  without,  and  willing  hands  had  been  as 
busy  within  the  improvised  banquet  hall.  Kxtra  tallies, 
chairs,  china,  glas.ses  of  all  shapes,  styles  and  colors, 
decanters,  carafes,  sconces,  candelabra,  dama.sk,  cutlery, 
silver,  etc.,  had  been  poured  in  as  fast  as  needed.  No- 
body had  to  be  asked  for  an5'thing,  everybody  sent  hi — 
no  !  her  best.  At  3  p.  m.,  under  a  canopy  consi.sting  of 
the  great  garrison  flag,  draped  from  the  front  of  the 
parlor  to  the  rear  of  the  dining-room,  with  all  manner  of 
smaller  flags,  guidons,  signal  outfits,  and  improvised 
drapery  too  intricate  for  description,  the  Colonel's  Chri.st- 
mas  table  was  laid  for  twenty-four,  and  was  a  sight  that 
set  his  eyes  glistening  to  match  the  array  of  crj^stal.  No 
flowers,  of  course,  for  'twas  in  the  heart  of  the  Rockies 
and  the  dead  of  winter.  No  w^ax  tapers,  for  there  wasn't 
time  to  provide  them,  but  in  their  stead,  from  scores  of 
brilliant  (tin)  sconces,  from  candlesticks,  candelabra, 
clusters  by  the  dozen,  there  popped  out  the  prim  white 
"best  adamantine "  of  the  Commissary  Department. 
"Bless  your  heart !  Mrs.  Grace,"  said  the  A.  A.  C.  S.  : 
"  They'll  make  just  as  soft  a  light  as  wax,  if  there  isn't  a 
draft,  and  just  as  brilliant  if  you  burn  enough  at  a  time." 

At  four  thirty  the  lookouts  reported  the  ambulance 
toiling  over  the  divide  five  miles  away.  "  Here  they 
come  !"  was  the  cry.  "  Now  ever5^body  who  is  to  be  at 
the  dinner  scatter  and  dress.  I  close  the  banquet  hall 
against  all  comers  until  it's  time  to  light  up,"  ordered  the 
Colonel's  w^ife,  "  and  mind — be  here  sharp  at  six.  They'll 
be  ravenous  by  the  time  they  reach  the  post. ' ' 

"Stop!  stop!  my  dear — one  minute!"  shouted  the 
Colonel  from  across  the  hall.  "Just  listen  to  this."  And 
with  twinkling  eyes  the  veteran  read  aloud  a  little  note 
he  held  in  a  hand  that  trembled  despite  himself. 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

"  Dear  Colonel  Grace  : 

"All  day  I  have  been  lamenting  that  there  was  nothing  I  could 
do  to  show  m\  interest  in  the  dinner  you  are  giving  to  our  unex- 
pected guests.  The  stage  came  in  the  nick  of  time.  It  brought 
me  from  New  York  my  special  favorites  of  the  club  days  a  few 
years  ago.  With  my  best  wishes  for  the  Merriest  of  Christmases 
to  all  I  send  this  box  of  Regalia  Perfectos. 

Yours  most " 

But  he  couldn't  finish. 

"Pills  junior— God  bless  him  !"  shouted  the  Major, 
"and  I've  been  doing  nothing  but  guy  him  since  he 
joined " 

''Colonel!''  screamed  Mrs.  Grace.  "And  we  hadn't 
room  for  him." 

"Make  it,  b}^  Jove!  Raise  the  roof!  Wh)^  there 
wasn't  a  cigar  worth  smoking  on  the  post — and,  damn 
these  medical  chaps  anyway,  thej- — they " 

' '  They  do  the  nicest  things  in  the  nicest  way, ' '  prompted 
Mrs.  Grace.     "  Doctor  Watts  comes  if  I  have  to  stand." 

"  Nonsense  !  Two  more  seats  can  go  in  there  just  as 
well  as  not,"  declared  Miss  Dot.!  "  I  would  like^  \.o 
squeeze  the  doctor  if  you  will  put  him  next  me." 

"  Dora  !  you  are  excited,"  remarked  mamma.  "  We'll 
have  the  doctor  here— next  Mrs.  Willis.  You  are  to  de- 
vote yourself  to  Major  Loomis.  But  that'll  make  twenty- 
three.     We  must  match  him.     Now,  which — who?" 

"I'll  run  right  over  and  tell  her— Kitty,  of  course," 
and  Miss  Dora  makes  a  dash.  In  vain  Mrs.  Grace  would 
have  interposed.     The  Colonel  settles  it. 

Kitty  Wallace,  by  all  means,  or  he  wouldn't  care  to 
come.  Now,  I've  just  time  to  go  over  and  hug  Pills  my- 
self." 

Fancy  the  astonishment  of  those  three  hungry  and 
wear>'   travelers,    Colonels   C and  D and  Major 


12  TIIR  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

Iv ,  when,  as  they  were  assisted,  stiff  and  half-frozen, 


from  the  ambulance  and  marshaled  aloft  to  warm  and 
cosy  rooms,  they  were  told  that  dinner  would  be  ready  as 
soon  as  they  were,  and  a  few  friends  to  meet  them.  ' '  Wear 
what  you  like,"  said  the  Colonel.  "We  know  you  have 
only  traveling  garb." 

But  as  they  thawed  out  under  the  influence  of  the  genial 
glow,  the  abundant  hot  water,  the  sounds  and,  it  must  be 
added,  the  scents  from  below,  for  a  big  dinner  announces 
itself  all  over  the  army  quarters  of  those  days  before  ever 
the  grace  is  said,  the  three  gentlemen  realized  something, 
at  least,  of  what  was  in  store  for  them. 

"Fatigue  uniform  is  the  best  we  can  do,"  said  Major 
Loomis.  ' '  I  can  see  shoulder  knots  and  aiguillettes  gath- 
ering below. ' ' 

"Fatigue  it  is,"  was  the  prompt  response,  and  then 
there  came  a  sudden  flock  of  dancing  lights  along  the  road- 
way in  front,  the  tramp  of  martial  footsteps.  "  The  band, 
by  Jove!  "said  the  Major,  and  the  band  it  was,  for  an 
instant  after  there  burst  upon  the  frosty  air  the  ringing, 
joyous  notes  of  a  welcoming  quickstep,  only  one  tune,  for 
the  valves  of  the  clarionettes  would  freeze  stiff"  in  less  than 
no  time.  But  to  that  spirited  music,  marshaled  by  their 
host,  they  descended  upon  a  hall  full  of  "  fair  women  and 
brave  men  "  in  all  the  gala  of  social  dress. 

"Dinner  is  served,"  announced  the  one  colored  facto- 
tum at  the  po.st,  throwing  open  the  door  at  the  head  of 
the  hall.  Mrs.  Grace  stole  her  gloved  hand  within  the 
arm  of  Colonel  C ,  and  before  that  distinguished  sol- 
dier had  had  time  to  bow  to  three  people  he  was  being 
led  down  a  banqueting  board,  the  like  of  which  he  had 
never  seen  or  dreamed  of  seeing  on  the  frontier  in  all  his 
years  of  gallant  service.  Speedily  the  guests  were  mar- 
shaled to  their  places — every  one  seemed  to  know  just 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

where  to  go.  There  was  an  instant  of  reverent  silence  as 
the  voice  of  the  old  chaplain  quavered  its  thanks  and  its 
plea  for  blessing  on  one  and  all.  Then  a  rustle  and  sub- 
dued clatter,  hushed  voices  for  a  while  as  the  party  ex- 
changed nods  and  smiles  and  stole  covert  glances  at  the 
three  storm- worn  travelers  as  though  seeking  to  read  in 
their  bearded  faces  what  they  thought  of  the  unusual  dis- 
play.    Colonel  C 's  twinkling  eyes  were  taking  in  the 

pretty  scene  with  frank  and  genial  delight.  Anybody 
could  tell  from  her  smiles  and  heightened  color  that  he 
was  sa3-ing  to  Mrs.  Grace  just  the  loveliest  possible  things 
of  the  beautiful  eflfect  of  the  table — and  well  he  might. 
Under  the  bright-hued  draper^'  the  glare  of  the  candles 
was  skillfully  toned  by  countless  tiny  screens  of  pink  tis- 
sue paper  on  wire  frames.  (Didn't  three  of  those  blessed 
women  spend  hours  in  cutting,  pasting  and  trimming 
them  ?)  The  "  adamantines  "  on  the  table  were  all  simi- 
larly dressed  with  little  pink  bells,  so  that  nowhere  was 
there  flame  in  sight.  Yet  the  light  was  amply  strong  to 
bring  out  all  the  beauties  of  the  board — the  lovely  cos- 
tumes of  the  women,  their  own  charming  faces,  the  rich 
variety  in  the  appointments  of  the  table,  in  crj-stal,  in 
china,  in  cut-glass.     "  Who  on  earth,"  said  old  Colonel 

D ,  before  he  had  been  seated  a  moment,  "would  have 

dared  dream  of  such  a  sight  as  this  ?  Blue  Points  on  the 
half-shell  in  the  heart  of  the  Rockies  !  " 

The}'  were  not  Blue  Points — neither  were  they  shells. 
The}'  were  bound  to  utilize  those  oysters  (canned  ' '  se- 
lects ' ' )  somehow,  and  this  was  an  inspiration  of  the  Ad- 
jutant.  At  each  place  as  the  banqueters  took  their  seats 
stood  a  little  block  of  clearest  ice,  six  inches  square  and 
two  deep,  hollowed  out  on  the  upper  surface,  and  therein 
reposed  five  of  the  smallest  oysters  that  could  be  selected 
from  the  ' '  selects. ' '     It  was  fun  to  see  that  energetic  of- 


14  TIIK   colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

ficial  spending  hours  that  afternoon  with  the  piccolo 
player  and  the  bass  drummer,  sawing  out  those  "  shells  " 
from  the  huge  blocks  duly  dumped  in  the  back-yard  and 
then  laboriously  hollowing  out  the  top  of  each  by  the  in- 
genious application  of  hot  shot — a  couple  of  stray  twelve- 
pounder  howitzer  shells  that,  long  since  emptied  and  un- 
fused,  had  been  kicking  about  the  post  since  the  memory 
of  the  oldest  log  in  the  block-house  at  the  angle. 

And  while  these  metamorphosed  ' '  selects ' '  were  being 
tipped  with  lemon  juice  and  horse  radish  and  slipped 
down  past  welcoming  palates,  white-gloved,  solemn-faced 
'*  strikers  " — the  Major's  eagle  eye  upon  them — were  fill- 
ing the  tiny  sherry  glasses  (and  half-filling  those  of 
larger  calibre)  with  his  treasured  Amontillado.  A  well- 
drilled  corps  they  proved — these  extemporized  Jeameses — 
for  while  everything  was  being  brought  in  from  the  door 
at  Mrs.  Grace's  end  of  the  double  room — everything  went 
out  at  the  other. 

"  By  Jove — what  sherr}^  !"  exclaimed  old  D .     He 

was  too  far  away  from  the  Colonel  to  be  heard  by 
him,  but  Mrs.  Grace  smiled  her  pleasure  at  his  satisfac- 
tion and  her  eyes  signaled  "fill  up  again."  Out  went 
the  ice  blocks.  In  came  two  huge  tureens  of  fragrant 
mock  turtle  and  these  were  deposited  on  little  stands  on 
each  side  of  the  table,  where  the  plates  were  quickly 
filled  and  set  before  the  guests.     "  Capital  idea  that !  Mrs. 

Grace,"  said  D again.     "  By  Jove,  madam,  you  must 

permit  me  to  compliment  you  on  such  management.  It 
would  be  sure  to  cool  if  carried  in  plates  from  the  kitchen, 
and  if  there's  anything  hateful  it's  cold  soup.  Especially 
when  one  has  been  exposed  to  storm  and  tempest  and 
zero  weather  for  a  week  in  the  mountains  as  we  have. 
More  sherry  ?  Indeed,  yes.  I'll  lose  no  time  in  drinking 
your  health." 


INTRODUCTION.  16 

And  Mrs.  Grace  smilingly  raised  her  glass  and 
bowed  her    acknowledgments    and  just    glanced  at  the 

humorous  twinkle  in  the  blue  eyes  of  Colonel  C ,  who 

sat  at  the  right  hand,  and  who  promptly  sipped  a  ripple 
from  the  surface  of  his  sherry  as  token  of  his  sympathy 
in  the  toast. 

And  now  the  chat  grew  merry  and  general.  Down  the 
table  far  to  the  right,  handsome  young  Doctor  Watts  was 
beaming  into  the  blushing  face  of  Kitty  Wallace.  Mid- 
way on  the  other  side,  sprightly  "  Dot  "  was  "  doing  her 
level  best"  to  fascinate  dark-visaged  Major  Loomis,  as 
bidden — while  Briggs,  whose  heroic  efforts  had  been  re- 
warded by  a  seat  at  her  other  side,  was  scowling  at  the 
situation  and  reaching  for  more  sherry.  It  was  McManus's 
' '  best ' '  that  lay  at  his  elbow,  for  the  Colonel  meant  to  use 
his  Major's  Amontillado  on  Sam  Ward's  principle— a 
thimble-full,  and  all  who  struck  for  more  (except  among 
the  guests  from  abroad)  should  take  the  local  product.  A 
lovely  woman,  a  visitor  at  the  fort,  was  making  play  with 

her  beautiful  blue  eyes  at  bluff  Colonel  D ,  TA'ho  took 

her  in  ;  but  he  was  too  full  of  his  recent  hardships  to  care 
for  comforts  less  material  than  those  to  be  found  in  his 
immediate  front.  Midway  down  the  table  the  staunch 
ally  of  Mrs.  Grace— the  Major's  wife — finding  Briggs 
moody,  decided  on  striving  to  console  him,  but  at  this 
moment  the  blue-eyed  dame,  finding  old  D intract- 
able and  being  unaccustomed  to  anything  less  than  rapt 
attention,  took  advantage  of  an  instant's  turn  of  Major 
Loomis's  head,  and  he  was  caught.  "Dot,"  rejoicing  in 
her  release  from  duty,  turned  to  whisper  to  Briggs, 
Smiles,  social  sun.shine,  joyousness  reigned  along  the 
board,  and  the  Major's  wife,  happy  in  such  consummation 
of  their  hopes,  sent  a  significant  look  along  over  the  wine 
glasses  and   through  the  pink  tissue  candle-bells  to  her 


16  THE   colonel's  CHRISTMAS   DINNER. 

loyal  friend  and  social  chief  at  the  head  of  the  table,  and 
Mrs.  Grace  caught  it  behind  her  fan  and  smiled  back  as 
the  great  haunch  of  venison  came  in. 

At  her  right,  beyond  the  senior  officer  of  all — the  low- 
voiced  gentleman  in  the  quiet  fatigue  dress — sat  pretty 
Mrs.  Wayne  exchanging  congratulations  with  the 
aiguilletted  Adjutant  who  was  just  beyond.  Then  there 
was  Mrs.  Winston,  wife  of  the  soldierly,  scholarly  senior 
Captain,  who  sat  far  down  at  the  Colonel's  end  chatting 
with  Mrs.  Quartermaster  Drake  over  the  trials  and  tri- 
umphs of  the  day.  Then  there  was  the  Captain  w^hose 
life  was  said  to  have  been  a  romance,  and  the  woman  who 
had  not  had  too  much  of  anything  but  reality,  and  who 
could  serenely  and  sweetly  enjoy  so  bright  a  scene  as  this, 
even  though  her  thoughts  were  much  with  the  little  ones 
at  her  modest  fireside  who  had  begged  for  some  of  the 
goodies  when  she  came  home  (I  wash  you  could  have 
seen  the  load  that  the  Colonel  helped  her  to  carry  to  those 
sleeping  cherubs,  when  we  broke  up — never  mind  at  what 
hour).  And  the  Colonel  had  taken  in  the  bride — the  wife 
of  the  Post  Surgeon  who  wouldn't  have  been  able  to  get 
here  at  all,  but  for  Briggs  and  his  mules.  And  the  gray- 
haired  chaplain  and  his  wife  were  there  and  the  quarter- 
master, of  course,  and  you  may  be  sure  old  McManus, 
the  jovial  trader,  w^as  bidden,  but  he  wouldn't  come. 
"Lord!  Currnel,  I'd  be  like  a  fi.sh  out  o'  wather,  and 
then,  d'ye  mind,  it's  the  boys  are  all  coming  to  the  shtore 
to-night  for  the  bit  of  spread  I'm  givin'  them."  And  so 
what  did  the  Graces  and  their  counsellors  do,  but  send 
and  insist  his  prett}^  daughter  should  come,  the  apple  of 
the  old  man's  "  oi,"  and  nothing  could  have  rejoiced  him 
more. 

By  the  time  the  turkej^s  were  gone — wild  and  domes- 
tic— people  were  well  filled,  and  still  there  came  another 


INTRODUCTION.  1 7 

course,  the  quails  of  the  bachelor  mess,  vdth  such  mar\-el- 

ous  celer>-  salad  !     And  old  D had  waxed  eloquent 

over  the  sauterne  and  exploded  with  amaze  at  sight  of 
Pape  Clement  in  Wyoming,  and  wouldn't  be  admonished 
by  the  disapproving  glance  bent  upon  him  by  his  senior 
across  the  table,  and  burst  out  with  "  But,  madam,  this  is 
magic.  This  beats  Aladdin  ;  beats— beats  anything  I 
ever  heard  oi—beafs  the  Jezvs  !  You  couldn't  have  known 
w-e  were  coming  more'n  a  day  and  you  couldn't  have  done 
better  if  you'd  known  it  a  year.  Now  I  never  heard  of 
Pape  Clement  outside  of  New  Orleans  before.  Why  !  I 
couldn't  have  been  more  surprised  if  you  had  given  us 
Pompano ' ' 

Pop  !  went  a  champagne  cork,  just  under  his  rubicund 
nose.  He  buried  his  grizzled  moustache  in  the  hissing 
fluid — Dot's  wedding  wine — and  glanced  about  him  a 
picture  of  bliss,  defiant  of  adverse  comment  or  criticism. 

And  now,  fun,  laughter,  witty  sallies,  jovial  anecdotes 
were  criss-crossing  over  the  board.  The  huge  plum  pud- 
ding, all  wealth  and  blue  blazes,  was  borne  aloft  by  the 
sable  functionary  down  the  long  length  ol  the  room,  and 
there,  by  aid  of  comrade  hands,  placed   in   front  of  the 

Colonel,  whose  face  was  as  roseate  and  bhssful  as  D 's, 

and  round  as  the  pudding's.  Pop  !  pop  !  the  champagne 
corks  went  flying.  Dot's  wedding  wine  was  to  be  taxed, 
only  enough  to  season  the  birds.  Then  again  'twas  Mc- 
Manus  ad  libitum.  And  ever3-body  praised  the  pudding, 
though  few  could  eat  it,  and  the  health  of  the  fair  manu- 
facturer was  drunk,  and  the  Adjutant's  wife  came  in  for  a 
general  toast  on  her  ices  and  cream,  and  McManus's  fruits 
were  heaped  before  unheeding  eyes,  and  at  last  came  Mrs. 
Drake's  masterpiece — coffee  so  black  and  rich  that  it  left  a 
stain  on  the  dainty  china  in  which  it  was  ser\ed,  and 
then  the  Colonel  arose,  and  people  at  his  end  of  the  table 


18  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

stopped  talking,  and  little  by  little  the  silence  spread. 
"  Fill  your  glasses,"  he  said.  "Soldiers,  soldiers'  wives — 
and — soldiers'  wives  that  ought  to  be." 

"  Bravo  !"  from  D . 

"Oh!  I  forget  you,  Dot,"  said  the  Colonel,  amidst 
shouts  of  laughter  and  applause,  but  glasses  were  filled, 
and  then  as  the  old  fellow  raised  his  on  high  a  sudden 
hush  fell  upon  them  all. 

"  We  don't  often  have  such  a  chance  as  this,  my  friends. 
I've  no  words  to  say  what  joy  it  gives  my  heart  to  wel- 
come you  all  here  at  this  God-given  and  blessed  season  of 
cheer  and  gladness.  I've  no  words  appropriate  to  the 
Christmas-tide,  dearly  though  I  love  it,  but  I  bid  you 
join  with  me  in  drinking — one  and  all — the  toast  that  at 
all  times,  at  all  seasons,  wherever  under  God's  provi- 
dence we  may  be  called  to  ser\^e,  must  ever  be  first  and 
foremost  in  the  American  heart :  The  President — and  the 
Flag!" 

Bang  !  went  a  gong  somewhere  out  in  the  hallway,  and 
as  all  sprang  to  their  feet  there  broke  upon  the  still  night 
air  without,  in  full  swing,  the  crash  of  the  band,  joined 
almost  instantl}'  by  a  score  of  manly  voices,  ' '  ould 
McManus"  leading  the  stirring  strains  of  "The  Star- 
Spangled  Banner."  It  was  the  climax  of  the  evening. 
They  had  been  rehearsing  an  hour  "  down  at  the  store." 

' '  And  now, ' '  said  the  Colonel  half  an  hour  later,  by 
which  time  the  enthusiasm  had  subsided  to  some  degree, 
"  Our  Guests  "  and  "The  Ladies"  had  been  appropri- 
ately toasted  and  responded  for  (the  former  doubly  so,  as 

after  Colonel  C had  spoken  his  few  modest,  well-chosen 

words  D sprang  to  his  feet  and  waxed  exuberant). 

' '  And  now, ' '  said  Grace,  ' '  we  have  talked  over  our  little 
programme,  the  ladies  and  I.  There's  nothing  for  them 
to  do,  if  banished.     They  are  all  indulgent  as  to  the  mat- 


THE   adjutant's  STORY.  19 

ter  of  good  tobacco  smoke.  They  have  made  this  little 
dinner — ever}-  bit  of  it — the  success  our  indulgent  friends 
have  pronounced  it,  and  it  would  break  my  heart  if  they 
were  to  leave."  (_"  Break  all  our  hearts  !"  shouts  from 
everywhere).  "  I  read  not  long  ago  of  a  Christmas  at  Sea, 
where  the  ward-room  officers  entertained  the  Admiral  and 
their  Captain  and,  over  the  walnuts  and  wine,  told  their 
stories  each  in  turn. 

"  In  almost  every  respect  they  had  manifest  advantages 
over  us  fellows.  But  in  one,  which  outrivals  theirs  com- 
bined, we  have  the  best  of  'em.  They  had  no  ladies  and, 
thank  God  !  we  have,  and  the  best  and  dearest  and 
truest  in  the  whole  Armj^,  if  I  do  say  it.  (Deafening  ap- 
plause). 

' '  They  have  willed — and  who  dare  disobey  ? — that  each 
man  here,  when  summoned,  shall  so  contribute  his  share 
to  the  enjoyment  of  our  Christmas  night.  I  have  done  my 
share  of  the  talk  "  ("No  !— No  !  "),  "and  my  duties  are 
now  at  an  end.  It  is  the  high  privilege  of  the  host  to  en- 
courage his  guests  by  leading  off  with  the  first  story,  but 
it  is  the  still  more  blessed  right  of  the  regimental  com- 
mander to  transfer  his  burden  to  the  shoulders  of  his  stafiF. 
In  the  exercise  of  that  right,  I  call  upon  my  Adjutant  for 
the  first  storj'.     Mr.  X.,  take  the  floor." 

Amidst  long-continued  applause  the  gallant  old  sol- 
dier took  his  seat,  and  then,  one  by  one,  regretfully,  the 
guests  turned  to  the  other  end  of  the  table,  where  sat  Mr. 
X.  blushing  over  his  aiguillettes. 


THE   ADJUTANT'S   STORY. 

"Well,"  said  the  Adjutant,  "  if  somebody  must  start 
the  ball,  I  will  try,  though  yarn-spinning  isn't  my  forte. 


20  THE   colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

and  I  shall  break  dowu  utterly  if  I  see  signs  of  satirical 
comment  anywhere." 

"  Oh,  shut  your  eyes  and  tell  it  as  '  Pills'  does  when 
he  sings  for  us,"  suggested  the  Senior  Lieutenant,  always 
ready  to  have  a  fling  at  the  Adjutant. 

"  Yes,  and  when  I  open  them  again  find  the  room 
deserted,  as  he  did  the  night  you  got  him  to  sing  at  IMrs. 
Freeman's."  At  this  there  was  a  general  shout  of  laugh- 
ter, for  the  incident  was  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  the 
garrison. 

"  No,"  continued  the  Adjutant,  "I'll  try  and  tell  the 
story.  It  all  happened  the  winter  my  old  troop  was  stationed 
at  Fort  Emor>^  and  if  you  don't  believe  in  ghosts  you  can 
ridicule  it  as  much  as  you  like. ' ' 

' '  A  ghost  story  !  ' '  exclaimed  the  lady  with  the  blue 
eyes.  "  Oh,  that's  delightful  !  But  we  ought  to  have  the 
room  darkened. ' '  There  was  no  response  to  this  sugges- 
tion, however,  and  the  Adjutant  went  on. 

' '  It  was  a  mighty  hard  winter.  It  had  been  blowing 
and  snowing  much  of  December,  and  by  the  time  the  hol- 
idays came  on,  the  whole  country  seemed  buried  under  the 
drifts.  We  were  penned  up  in  the  post,  for,  unless  there 
was  imminent  need,  nobody  wanted  to  send  out  teams  in 
such  weather.  The  mail  was  carried  over  to  the  railway 
twice  a  week  by  Indians  who  made  the  trip  in  two  or 
three  days  by  using  up  several  ponies.  Otherwise  we  had 
had  no  communication  with  the  settlements  since  the 
twelfth  of  the  month.  Now  that  winter  Jim  Forbes  and  I 
were  living  together.  He  was  serving  with  '  F '  troop, 
and  I  with  '  K.'  We  had  the  set  of  quarters  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  row,  nearest  the  stables  and  farthest 
from  the  commanding  officer's.  Colonel  Hawes,  of  the 
— th  Foot,  was  in  command.  His  family  was  with  him — 
his  wife,  three  children  and  a  distant  connection   of  his 


THE   adjutant's   STORY.  21 

wife's,  Miss  Frazier,  a  fragile,  delicate  girl  of  about 
twenty,  who  had  no  home  of  her  own,  it  seems,  and  who, 
by  being  governess,  and  heaven  knows  what  all  besides 
to  those  three  youngsters,  managed  to  eke  out  a  living 
and  have  a  home  under  the  Colonel's  roof 

"She  was  a  shy,  retiring  sort  of  a  girl,  with  big  brown 
ej^es  ;  something  awfully  pathetic  about  them,  I  thought  at 
times ;  but  I  never  saw  anything  of  her  when  we  called  at 
the  Colonel's,  and  on  pleasant  days  when  she  was  out  walk- 
ing with  the  children  she  avoided  notice  in  ever>^  way,  and 
seemed  positively  scared  if  any  of  us  bowed  or  spoke  to 
her.  She  came  out  with  Mrs.  Hawes  and  the  children 
late  in  the  fall,  and  the  winter  set  in  soon  and  put  a  stop 
to  her  out-door  pleasures,  if  she  had  any,  and  then 
Forbes  took  to  calling  frequentl}-  at  the  Colonel's  by  night, 
and  to  taking  notice  to  those  graceless  kids  by  day.  As 
he  had  hardly  been  on  cordial  terms  with  the  family 
before,  it  was  evident  there  was  some  new  attraction, 

"  I  was  very  fond  of  Jim.  He  was  a  big,  burly  fellow, 
rough  as  a  miner  and  soft-hearted  as  a  woman 

"  As  a  major,  I  thought  you  were  going  to  say,"  put  in 
Mr.  Briggs. 

"Do  be  quiet,  Mr.  Briggs,"  pouted  the  Major's  wife. 
The  Colonel  frowned,  and  glancing  around  the  table,  Briggs 
found  that  people  were  getting  interested  and  that  per- 
haps he  had  better  subside.  The  Adjutant  took  advantage 
of  the  diversion  to  imbibe  a  little  Dutch  courage  from  his 
champagne  glass,  and  then  went  on  : 

"  I  say  I  was  fond  of  Forbes.  He  was  not  a  brilliant 
fellow,  like  Briggs  here,  but  he  was  stanch  and  true  ;  a 
good  son  and  brother,  as  I  had  reason  to  know  while  his 
mother  was  alive  ;  but  he  was  practically  alone  in  the 
world  now,  and  rather  solemn  at  times.  He  had  one 
pronounced  fad.  Without  being  a  spiritualist,  he  somehow 


22  TIIK   colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

believed  in  spirits.  He  used  to  sit  in  a  big,  easy  rocking- 
chair  on  his  side  of  our  centre-table  nights  when  we  were 
alone  and  tell  me  about  his  mother  and  how  often  he  saw 
her  and  talked  with  her  now.  I  told  him  it  was  all 
dreaming  ;  but  he  believed  in  it,  and  used  to  wax  really 
eloquent,  talking  about  his  theories  by  the  hour.  We  had 
an  open  fireplace,  and  burned  hickor>'  logs  then,  and 
though  it  was  only  a  bachelor  ranch,  we  were  pretty  snug 
and  comfortable.  Night  after  night,  as  the  winter  came 
on  and  the  wind  howled  about  tlie  old  shell  of  a  shanty, 
we  sat  there  in  front  of  the  roaring  blaze,  he  with  his  pipe, 
and  always  rocking  to  and  fro,  to  and  fro  as  he  talked, 
and  I  got  to  know  him  better  and  like  him  better  every 
day. 

"  '  Why,'  said  he  one  night,  '  you  laugh  at  my  thinking 
I  can  hear  mother  moving  around  my  bed,  or  sometimes 
bending  over  to  kiss  me  as  she  used  to  when  I  was  a  boy. 
Now  we've  been  pretty  close  friends  here  for  a  couple  of 
years,  old  man  ;  don't  j'ou  suppose  that  if  I  were  to  die 
I'd  want  to  come  back  and  see  how  you  were  getting 
along  without  me  ?  Why,  it  would  be  just  as  natural  for 
me  to  come  drifting  in  some  night  and  setting  this  old 
chair  of  mine  to  rocking,  and  communing  with  you  just 
as  I  do  now.  I  don't  suppose  I'd  be  visible  to  you  ;  but 
it  seems  as  though  I  could  make  my  presence  known. 
I'll  tell  you  what:  If  I'm  killed  or  suddenly  taken 
away  any  time  while  you  are  here,  and  my  theory  is  all 
right,  that  our  souls  can  rustle  around  on  earth  awhile, 
I'll  let  you  know  I'm  gone  in  that  way.  I'll  just  float  in 
here  and  start  my  old  rocker  going.' 

' '  Of  course  I  simply  laughed  at  him  ;  but  there  came 
a  night  when  I  didn't. 

"  I  didn't  care  to  go  often  to  the  Colonel's;  he  was 
very  prosy,  and  would  talk  for  hours  on  regulations  and 


THE   adjutant's  STORY.  23 

papers,  but  Forbes  got  to  going  up  there  two  and  three 
and  then  four  nights  a  week.  Mrs.  Hawes  was  quick 
enough  to  divine  the  attraction,  and  as  she  hoped  with 
another  year  to  live  in  a  cit>'  and  educate  her  brood  at 
some  fashionable  school,  she  doubtless  thought  it  a  good 
plan  to  marr}^  oft  Miss  Frazier,  and  Forbes  would  make  a 
capital  husband.  He  was  just  the  man  a  woman  could 
rule  with  a  look.  And  so  Miss  Frazier  was  brought  down 
from  the  upper  regions  and  made  to  sing  and  play  for 
him,  which  she  did  not  at  all  want  to  do  as  it  turned  out : 
and,  as  she  was  being  obviously  thrown  at  his  head,  the 
result  was  inevitable  :  she  began  to  hate  the  sight  of  him; 
and  big  honest  Jim  used  to  come  home  looking  bluer  and 
bluer,  and  sighing  like  a  dozen  furnaces,  and  yet  saying 
no  word.  I  got  ner\-ous  about  it,  and  was  for  getting 
somebody  to  go  and  steer  Mrs.  Hawes  onto  the  other 
tack,  when  old  Boreas  himself  took  a  hand  and  helped  us 
in  a  most  unexpected  way. 

' '  Jim  had  been  in  the  depths  of  despond  for  a  whole  week. 
It  had  been  snowing  night  and  day,  when  on  the  evening 
of  the  19th,  I  think  it  was,  he  came  back  from  the 
Colonel's  earlier  than  ever. 

"  '  Where  can  I  get  a  sleigh  ?  '  he  asked. 

"  '  I  don't  know,  Jim,  unless  the  trader  has  one.  Why  ? ' 
And  then  he  told  me.  Miss  Frazier  had  a  brother,  an  only 
brother,  it  seems,  who  was  far  from  strong,  and  who  had 
grievously  offended  his  aunt,  Mrs.  Hawes,  a  year  or  two 
before.  Miss  Frazier' s  heart  was  bound  up  in  the  j^oung 
fellow,  and  she  had  received  a  letter  saying  that  at  last  he 
had  obtained  a  good  appointment  in  southern  California 
where  the  physicians  had  urged  his  going  ;  that  he  must 
be  in  San  Francisco  on  the  first  of  January  ;  but  that  he 
was  coming  around  by  the  way  of  the  old  K.  P.,  and 
they  would  spend  Christmas  eve  together.     He  could  not 


24  TIIR   COLOXKL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

go  on  to  the  fort,  for  he  would  not  set  foot  under  the 
Hawes's  roof  She  must  come  in  to  Grover  City,  the 
nearest  raihva}'  town  where  there  was  a  good  hotel. 
With  the  cheerful  ignorance  of  all  men  who  have  never 
been  West,  he  thought  it  a  perfectly  feasible  thing  to 
drive  over  the  intervening  forty  miles  at  any  time  ;  and 
now  there  was  not  a  trail  that  wasn't  deep  in  snow.  The 
Colonel  and  his  wife  had  coldly  told  her  the  trip  was 
simply  impossible  and  bade  her  telegraph  to  him  to  hire  a 
sleigh  and  strong  team  and  come  out  to  the  fort.  In  such 
weather  and  for  such  a  trip  it  would  cost  a  fabulous  sum, 
and  her  brother  had  not  a  surplus  cent.  She  was  sobbing 
aloft  in  her  little  room  while  Mrs.  Hawes  was  dilating  to 
Forbes  upon  the  utter  absurdity  of  the  whole  thing.  *  It's 
nothing  but  an  absurd  sentiment  on  her  part.  Of  course 
if  there  were  any  way  of  bringing  them  together  I  would 
doit.  But  there  isn't.  The  Colonel  says  no  horses  or 
mules  could  possibly  make  the  trip.  She's  just  crying 
herself  sick  over  it. ' 

' '  Then  what  does  Forbes  do  but  scribble  a  note  and  send 
it  to  her  by  one  of  her  pupils,  sa3dng  in  so  many  words 
that  he  would  either  get  her  to  town  or  fetch  her  brother 
out  to  the  fort,  but  at  taps  he  was  back  in  the  house 
again  with  a  face  as  long  as  my  story.  There  wasn't  a 
thing  on  runners  in  the  post.  The  nearest  sleigh  that  he 
could  hear  of  was  at  Rayburn's  ranch,  ten  miles  over  on 
the  Saline  At  dawn  he  rode  awaj',  permission  being 
rather  grudgingly  granted,  we  thought ;  took  an  Arrapahoe 
guide  with  him  and  two  Horses,  and  then  we  heard  noth- 
ing more  until  late  in  the  evening,  when  he  drove  in  with 
a  really  good  sleigh,  but  a  played  out  team.  He  had 
gone  over  thirty  miles  through  unbroken  drifts  to  get  it. 

"  Next  morning,  with  two  fresh  horses,  hired  of  old 
Grubb,'  our  post  trader,  he  loaded  up  the  sleigh  with 


THE  ADJUTANT'S  STORY.  25 

robes  and  rations,  and  was  away  at  daybreak  bound  for 
Grover  City  ;  and  though  I  didn't  feel  Hke  talking  with 
Mrs.  Hawes,  I  did  want  to  see  Miss  Frazier,  and  tell  her 
how  blithely  Jim  had  started.  He  expected  to  drive 
slowly  all  day  long,  with  frequent  rests  and  plenty  of  feed 
for  the  team,  and  to  reach  Murray's  ranch  at  night, 
twenty  miles  away.  After  that  he  would  find  at  least 
partially  broken  roads  and  could  get  along  faster.  It  was 
a  glorious,  sunshiny  winter's  day.  The  snow  sparkled 
and  glistened.  The  sun  was  so  warm  that  the  eaves 
began  to  drip,  and  the  women  and  children  came  flocking 
out  on  the  porches,  snow-balling  ■  from  house  to  house. 
The  Colonel  had  ordered  out  a  party  to  follow  the  tele- 
graph line  and  locate  the  breaks,  and  I  was  really  sorry 
the  detail  had  fallen  to  another  fellow  and  not  to  me,  as  I 
walked  up  to  the  Colonel's  and  asked  for  Miss  Frazier. 
She  looked  even  more  fragile  than  ever  when  she  came 
into 'the  parlor  from  the  school-room.  Her  big  eyes  were 
full  of  anxiety  and  longing,  and  heavy  tear-drops  began 
to  gather  the  moment  I  told  her  of  Jim's  buoj^ant  start  at 
dawn.  She  knew  of  his  going ^-her  window  commanded 
a  view  of  what  had  been  the  road  for  several  miles— and 
yet,  instead  of  being  glad  and  hopeful,  as  I  supposed,  she 
was  profoundly  depressed.  '  I  cannot  help  it,'  she  said, 
throwing  herself  into  a  chair.  '  I  have  been  haunted  by 
most  dreadful  dreams  ;  tormented  by  all  manner  of  fore- 
bodings.    Oh,  I  wish  he  had  not  gone  ! ' 

"  Now  this  was  not  at  all  what  I  had  expected  or  hoped 
for,  but  I  tried  to  cheer  her  ;  told  her  Jim  would  find 
rapidly  clearing  roads,  and  would  have  her  brother  at  our 
house  before  sundown  on  the  24tli,  possibly  by  noon. 
'And  Mr.  Frazier' s  room  is  all  ready  for  him,'  I  added; 
'  and  we'll  have  a  jolly  Christmas  dinner  there.  Mrs. 
Stanuard  is  coming  to  see  you  this  morning.     She  will 

2 


26  THE   colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

matronize  the  party,  for  it  was  arranged  weeks  ago  that 
she  and  Captain  Stannard  were  to  be  our  Christmas 
guests.  Then  the  next  day  we  will  see  Mr.  Frazier  safely 
over  to  the  railway  and  off  for 'Frisco.'  And  still  she 
was  sad  and  unresponsive.  I  could  not  rouse  her  at  all. 
I  went  and  got  Mrs.  Stannard  to  run  over  and  see  her. 
And  that  night  I  went  again.  Mrs.  Stannard  said  she 
feared  Miss  Frazier  would  be  ill,  she  was  in  such  distress 
of  mind.  '  She  cannot  sleep  without  being  tortured  by 
dreams  in  which  she  sees  Mr.  Forbes  and  her  brother  lost 
on  the  prairie  and  freezing  to  death  in  some  terrible  storm. 
She  cannot  close  her  eyes  without  the  picture  rising 
before  her  at  the  instant.'  Now  this  was  the  evening  of 
the  2ist.  The-  detachment  came  in  and  said  they  had 
followed  the  telegraph  line  for  seven  miles  ;  that  many 
poles  were  down  and  the  wires  were  buried  out  of  sight  in 
a  thousand  places.  They  also  said  that  Forbes  with  his 
sleigh  had  followed  the  line  instead  of  the  road.  It  was 
straighter,  but  went  up  hill  and  down  dale  in  a  way  no 
wagon  could  follow,  and  it  might  be  difficult  for  him. 

"  On  the  22d  about  nightfall  an  Indian  runner  came  in 
with  our  letter  mail.  He  said  Forbes  had  got  to  Murray's 
all  right,  despite  several  upsets.  So  far,  so  good.  There 
was  a  letter  for  Miss  Frazier,  and  I  was  not  surprised  to 
get  a  message  before  tattoo.  Mrs.  Stannard  wanted  me  to 
come  to  her  a  moment. 

"Just  as  I  supposed.  Miss  Frazier  was  there  with  her 
brother's  letter,  and  the  poor  girl  was  well-nigh  heart- 
broken. He  had  been  seized  with  a  hemorrhage  at  St. 
Louis,  and  forbidden  to  start  at  the  time  proposed.  He 
could  now  reach  Grover  City  only  by  noon  of  the  23d, 
and  it  might  be  the  last  time,  he  said,  that  he  could  ever 
hope  to  see  her  loved  face.  It  was  now  arranged  that  for 
a  little  change  and  rest  she  should  remain  with  Mrs. 


THE  ADJUTANT'S  STORY.  27 

Stannard  a  day  or  two.  The  dreams  that  so  terrified  her 
might  not  pursue  her  there. 

"  But  they  did.  When  I  went  over  to  inquire  the  next 
day,  the  poor  girl  was  nearly  wild.  '  Is  there  no  way,  no 
way  to  stop  them  ?  '  she  cried.  '  They  must  not  attempt 
to  come.  It  is  death  to  both.'  But  we  reasoned  with 
her ;  pointed  out  how  the  skies  were  cloudless  ;  the 
weather  settled  ;  assured  her  that  by  this  time  Frazier 
and  Forbes  were  probably  getting  ready  to  start  and 
would  spend  the  night  at  Murray's  Ranch.  She  only  hid 
her  face  and  moaned.  '  I  have  brought  this  upon  them,' 
she  cried.  '  I  have  driven  them  to  their  death,'  And  I 
went  oflf  feeling  almighty  queer,  I  can  tell  you. 

' '  Yet  the  sun  went  down  in  cloudless  splendor.  There 
wasn't  a  breath  of  air  stirring.  I  thought  I  would  run 
over  to  Stannard' s  to  get  them  out  to  see  the  sunset, 
thinking  it  would  cheer  them.  But  the  western  sky  be- 
gan to  turn  yellow,  not  red,  and  I  went  back.  At  tattoo 
I  tramped  over  to  the  hospital  to  read  the  barometer, 
hoping  to  come  back  and  assure  her  that  it  said,  '  Set 
Fair.'  But  I  went  to  the  trader's  instead  and  oflfered  Jake 
Cooley,  one  of  our  half-breed  scouts,  twenty-five  dollars  to 
make  the  night  ride  to  Murray's.  He  looked  surprised, 
said  all  right,  jumped  oflf  the  bar  where  he  was  sitting  and 
started  down  to  the  corral  for  his  broncho  ;  but  came  back 
in  ten  minutes  and  said  he  wouldn't  tr\-  it  for  fifty.  The 
wind  was  beginning  to  moan  about  the  haystacks  ;  and  the 
guard  were  ordered  to  get  their  buffalo  coats  and  overshoes. 

"Before  dawn  the  windows  were  rattling.  Still  there 
was  nothing  really  alarming  in  the  weather.  But  when 
the  morning  light  came  creeping  in,  the  air  was  full  of 
snow-flakes  again  and  the  skies  were  heavilj'  overcast.  I 
won't  go  into  details.  Those  of  us  who  were  with  the 
regiment  that  winter  will  never  forget  the  blizzard  that 


28  THE   colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

followed.  By  noon  a  gale  of  seventy-five  miles  an  hour 
was  raging  from  the  north,  a  blinding  storm  of  snow  from 
the  sky  and  drifts  from  the  surface  was  whirling  into  the 
faces  of  the  few  who  dared  venture  forth,  and  the  mercury 
had  fallen  to  twenty  below  zero.  It  was  simply  awful. 
And  not  a  word  of  news  had  we  from  Forbes  or  Frazier, 
even  when  nightfall  came. 

' '  And  now  comes  the  strange  part  of  my  stor}^ :  I  had 
been  over  at  Stannard's  trying  hard  to  think  of  something 
to  cheer  or  comfort  that  poor  girl ;  but  it  was  useless. 
She  was  either  staggering  up  and  down  the  room,  wring- 
ing her  hands,  or  else  moaning  on  the  sofa.  Mrs.  Stan-* 
nard  could  do  nothing  to  drive  awaj^  her  awful  dread.  I 
tried  to  assure  her  that  Forbes  was  so  skilled  a  plainsman 
that  he  would  never  think  of  quitting  shelter  on  so  threat- 
ening a  morning.  But  she  shook  her  head.  '  I  know  him 
— I  know  him.  He  will  only  think  of  the  promise  he 
made  me, '  was  her  reply.  At  tattoo  I  left  them  and  the 
wind  blew  me  down  the  line  and  past  my  own  gate  and 
w^ould  have  whirled  me  to  the  stables  if  I  hadn't  grabbed 
the  fence.  All  sentries  had  been  drawn  inside.  There 
was  no  attempt  to  form  companies  for  roll-call.  Every- 
body was  indoors.  A  blazing  fire  was  roaring  in  our 
chimney  place  as  I  entered :  but  I  confess  I  was  ut- 
terly depressed,  the  girl's  foreboding  had  so  affected 
me.  It  was  useless  to  attempt  rescue  of  any  kind. 
All  was  dark  as  Erebus  on  the  howling  prairie,  and 
neither  man  nor  beast  could  make  his  way  northward 
against  that  storm.  I  threw  myself  in  my  old  padded  arm- 
chair and  drew  it  close  to  the  hearth  ;  but  the  blast  roared 
in  the  chimney  and  fairly  shook  the  house  from' roof  to  cel- 
lar, rattling  the  blinds  and  sashes  and  driving  the  snow 
through  every  crevice.  Even  our  old  cat  and  her  frolic- 
some kittens  seemed  uneasy  and   worried,  and  Tabby, 


THE  adjutant's  STORY.  29 

who  never  so  honored  me  when  Jim  was  home,  sprang 
into  my  lap  for  petting  and  comfort  that  I  was  too  heavy- 
hearted  to  give  ;  and  so  with  querulous  '  miaow '  she 
went  back  to  her  brood  in  the  basket.  And  there  I  sat, 
prett}'  well  worn  out,  I  can  tell  j'ou,  with  distress  and 
anxiety,  thinking  despite  myself  of  all  Forbes  had  ever 
said  of  coming  back  from  the  spirit  world  and  rocking 
here  in  his  old  chair.  There  it  stood,  looking  so  lone- 
some, empty,  silent,  that  I  half  turned  as  though  to 
stretch  out  my  hand  and  give  it  a  sympathetic  pat,  but  I 
could  not  reach  it ;  it  was  full  five  feet  away.  And  just 
then, — how  he  managed  to  blow  in  that  storm,  I  don't 
know, — but  some  one  of  the  infantry  buglers  up  at  the 
north  end  of  the  parade  got  out  on  the  covered  veranda 
and  began  to  sound  taps.  Never  in  my  life  had  I  heard 
it  like  that :  so  wild,  so  weird,  and  so  despairing.  Many 
a  time  it  had  wailed  '  put  out  your  light '  over  the  grave 
of  some  poor  fellow  whom  we  had  buried  in  Arizona  or 
under  the  shadows  of  the  mountains  ;  but  never  did  it 
sound  to  me  as  it  did  that  awful  night,  and  for  the  life  of 
me  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  her  dream  and  of  Jim's 
strange  promise  to  me.  I  felt  a  cold  chill  running  all  over 
me,  and  I  huddled  closer  to  the  fire  as  the  last  note  died 
away,  completely  ready  now  to  believe  with  her  that  it 
was  their  requiem.  And  then, — then  if  I  had  needed 
something  to  banish  the  last  lingering  doubt,  it  came.  Be- 
lieve me  or  not  as  you  choose,  but  as  true  as  I  sit  here 
and  tell  this  story, — as  true  as  I  live  and  breathe, — just 
as  the  last  note  of  taps  died  away,  without  a  sound,  with- 
out a  touch  from  any  source  that  I  could  see,  without  the 
faintest  reason — Forbes'  big  rocking-chair  settled  suddenly 
back  as  though  he  had  lowered  himself  into  it,  and  then 
rocked  violently  to  and  fro. 

"  No,  I  didn't  faint  or  cr}-  out  or  run.    I  just  fell  back  in 


30         THE  colonel's  Christmas  dinner. 

my  own  chair  with  every  hair  standing  on  end,  chilled  to 
the  marrow.  I  lay  back  there  glaring  at  that  awful  chair 
as  it  slowly  ceased  its  rocking  ;  and  at  last  I  got  up, 
reached  the  dining-room  somehow,  swallowed  a  glass  of 
whiskey  and  was  striving  to  get  back  some  vestige  of 
ner\-e  when  the  front  door  burst  open  and  a  big  burly  man 
plunged  in.  '  Help  me  get  him  out  of  the  saddle ! 
We're  both  frozen,'  he  cried,  — and  it  was  my  blessed  old 
Jim  still  in  the  flesh.  I  yelled  for  our  striker,  and  in  a 
moment  more  the  three  of  us,  between  us,  had  lugged  in 
a  fur-covered  stranger,  too  exhausted  to  speak.  The 
horses  fled  to  the  stables  down  under  the  hill.  The 
striker  ran  for  Stannard  and  the  doctor,  and  in  five  min- 
utes Helen  Frazier,  wild-eyed,  tearful,  but  rejoicing  be- 
yond all  words,  was  kneeling  by  her  brother's  side. 

"'  I'll  be  all  right  soon,'  he  whispered  at  last.  '  I'm 
not  frozen.  Look  to  the  lieutenant !  He  made  me  wear 
his  fur  gloves  and  buffalo  shoes. '  And  then  we  found  Jim 
had  vanished  to  the  kitchen,  and  there  he  was  ankle  deep 
in  a  tub  of  snow,  while  Bell,  the  striker,  was  plunging 
his  master's  blue- white  fingers  into  a  bucket  similarly 
filled. 

"  And  yet,  with  of  course  this  exception,"  proceeded 
the  Adjutant  after  a  pause,  "our  Christmas  dinner  the 
next  day  was  the  most  delightful  I  ever  knew.  As  though 
to  make  amends  for  its  fury  of  the  day  before,  the  weather 
was  simply  perfect.  Most  of  us  went  to  mom  in  g  service 
in  our  little  chapel,  and  almost  everybody  came  in  to  see 
Jim  and  pat  him  on  the  back,  for  his  hands  and  feet  were 
all  done  up  in  bandages;  and  over  again  Mr.  Frazier 
smilingly  had  to  tell  of  that  fearful  trip  from  Mun-ay's 
ranch.  The  wind  being  at  their  backs  they  had  thought 
to  get  along  all  right,  but  soon  after  starting  the  snow  got 
SO  thick,  the  gale  so  violent  and  the  drifts  so  deep  that 


THE  ADJUTANT'S  STORY.  31 

they  were  capsized  again  and  again,  and  at  last  the  pole 
snapped  short  off.  They  abandoned  the  sleigh,  and 
Forbes  had  hauled  his  fur  gloves  and  overshoes  on  his 
companion's  resisting  hands  and  feet,  for  Frazier  was  ut- 
terly unprepared  for  such  an  outing.  Then  Jim  lifted  the 
young  fellow  on  the  off  horse,  mounted  the  near  one  him- 
self, and  so  they  were  simply  blown  along  for  fifteen 
miles.  Again  and  again  the  horses  fell  in  the  drifts  and 
Forbes  would  pick  Frazier  up,  set  him  back  and  then  on 
they  would  plunge,  blinded,  breathless,  almost  exhausted 
and  frozen  stifi",  w^hen  at  last  the  poor  brutes  landed  them 
within  the  shelter  of  the  garrison. 

' '  Well,  that  evening  we  had  our  Christmas  dinner,  Mrs. 
Stannard  presiding  at  one  end  of  the  table,  Stannard  and 
I  doing  the  carving  for  the  crowd  ;  for  we  had  in  the 
chaplain  and  his  wife  and  two  daughters  and  two  of  the 
bachelor  officers,  Mr.  and  Miss  Frazier  and  Jim.  Just  a 
dozen,  though  Forbes  could  not  sit  at  the  table.  He  was 
bolstered  up  in  that  imp  of  a  rocking-chair,  with  his 
bandaged  feet  on  another,  yet  jolly  and  happy  as  he  could 
be,  for  Miss  Frazier  cut  up  his  turkey  for  him,  and  the 
way  she  blushed  made  her  look  pretty  as  a  picture.  And 
— that  about  ends  it.  I  got  a  seven  days'  leave,  and  Fra- 
zier and  I  made  the  trip  to  Grover  City  all  right ;  and 
w^hen  I  came  back  at  the  end  of  the  week  and  went  over 
to  the  Colonel's  with  a  package  Frazier  gave  me  for  his 
sister,  little  Kitty  Hawes  showed  me  right  into  the  parlor, 
and  there  were  Jim  and  Miss  Frazier  sitting  side  by  side 
on  the  sofa,  and  would  you  believe  it  ?  instead  of  being 
glad  to  see  me  when  she  jumped  up,  she  ran  right  out  of 
the  room,  and  was  still  red  as  a  rose  when  Jim  at  last 
coaxed  her  back.  She  is  Mrs.  Captain  Forbes,  of  the 
quartermaster's  department  now,  and  a  mighty  sweet 
woman  too.     And  her  brother  gained  health  and  money 


32         THE  colonel's  ciirlstmas  dinner. 

both,  at  San  Diego,  and — d, —  well,  as  I  said,  that's  about 
all  there  was  to  it." 

"  But,  Mr.  X.,"  exclaimed  two  or  three  feminine  voices 
at  once,  "  you  haven't  accounted  for  that  chair's  behaving 
so.  I  never  heard  anything  so  weird  and  mysterious  in 
all  my  life." 

"  Now  do  you  know, "  said  the  Adjutant,  "  that  thing 
puzzled  me  for  a  whole  week  after  I  got  back.  I  wouldn't 
tell  Jim  about  it.  It  impressed  me  so  strangely.  And 
now  that  he  was  spending  all  his  evenings  at  the  Colonel's 
I  wouldn't  sit  alone  with  the  confounded  chair.  It  gave 
me  cold  shivers  to  look  at  it,  and  I  used  to  clear  out  and 
go  calling,  or  down  to  the  store,  and  one  night  I  had  to 
be  in  for  a  minute,  and  all  of  a  sudden,  just  as  it  did  the 
night  of  the  gale,  just  as  taps  were  sounding,  too,  that  in- 
fernal— I  beg  3'our  pardon— that  blessed  chair  suddenly 
began  to  rock  again.  Why,  you  ought  to  have  seen  me 
start  for  the  door.  I  grabbed  my  cap,  flew  around  the 
table,  and  then  there  was  a  fearful,  blood-curdling  yell." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  X.,"  shuddered  the  Colonel's  daughter. 

"Yes,  a  fearful,  blood-curdling  yell,  I  give  j'-ou  my 
word.  You  see  I  stepped  square  on  to  the  liveliest  of  the 
kittens,  just  after  the  little  brute  had  pitched  off  the  hind 
end  of  that  rocker.  Its  weight  was  enough  to  tilt  back 
the  chair  and  set  it  going. ' ' 

For  a  moment  there  was  a  dead  silence.  People  looked 
at  one  another,  and  then  the  sentiment  of  the  entire  table, 
doubtless,  was  voiced  by  the  lad}-  with  the  sweet  blue  eyes. 

"  Mr.  X.,  I  declare  I  think  you're  a  fraud." 

The  Adjutant  having  scored  a  dead  failure,  it  seemed 
difficult  for  the  moment  to  find  a  successor.  Briggs  was 
called  for,  but  begged  off  on  the  plea  that  if  that  was  a 
specimen  of  the  light- weights'  work,  it  was  time  to  call  on 
the  seniors. 


THE  SENIOR  LIEUTENANT'S  STORY.  33 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it,"  boomed  the  Major  in  his  ponderous 
basso.  "  We  want  to  give  you  bo3-s  your  day  now — early 
in  the  battle,  w^hen  people  are  not  sleepy  and  eager  to  go 
home,  as  they  may  be  after  hearing  you  talk." 

"  I  appeal  from  the  Major  to  the  chair,"  laughed  Briggs, 
bowing  diplomatically  to  the  father  of  the  feast. 

"  And  the  chair  sustains  the  Major.  Go  on,  Briggs. 
Do  what  you  can  for  the  sake  of  the  subs,"  replied  the 
Colonel. 

"It's  too  much  like  voting  on  a  court, ' '  said  the  lyieuten- 
ant.  "I'm  glad  the  ladies  are  here  to  do  away  with  the 
idea  that  it  is  a  court,"  and  he  glanced  at  the  bright  face 
smiling  by  his  side.  It  gave  him  courage,  at  least.  "  And 
if  I'm  to  be  the  next  victim,  the  sooner  it's  over  the  better. 
Here  goes 


THE  SENIOR   LIEUTENANT'S   STORY. 

"  When  Jack  Talbot  was  thirty  years  old  and  had,  after 
eight  years'  service,  attained  the  exalted  rank  of  senior 
second  lieutenant  of  his  regiment,  he  suddenly  conceived 
the  idea  of  taking  unto  himself  a  wife.  It  is  hard  to 
say  exactly  what  put  this  thought  into  his  head,  for  if 
there  ever  was  an  army  bachelor  unsuited  for  matrimony, 
it  was  Jack. 

' '  To  begin  with  he  w^as  as  poor  as  the  proverbial  church- 
mouse,  head  over  heels  in  debt  Tthe  interest  he  paid 
would  have  supported  a  poor  family),  very  extravagant, 
and  with  about  as  much  idea  of  economy  or  business  as  a 
babe— and  then  again  he  had  become  so  wedded  to  his 
bachelor  ways  of  life,  that  any  radical  change  seemed 
fraught  with  a  great  deal  of  danger.  Jack  himself  never 
appreciated  these  things — in  fact  he  had  an  idea  that  he  w' as 

2* 


34  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

just  the  man  to  make  a  most  proper  and  excellent  head  of 
a  family.  '  Of  course  I'll  have  to  make  a  great  many  per- 
sonal sacrifices,'  he  mused  to  himself  as  the  idea  began  to 
grow  on  him  ;  '  no  more  card  practice — no  more  staying 
out  late  at  nights— no  more  fast  horses — no  more — in  fact, 
no  more  foolishness,'  and  Jack  pulled  himself  together 
with  a  sudden  virtuous  determination  that  was  delightful 
to  behold  ;  on  the  other  hand,  however,  he  continued,  '  In- 
stead of  the  aimless,  shiftless  existence  I've  been  leading  for 
some  years,  there'll  be  something  to  live  for — some  one  to 
work  for — some  one  to  brighten  and  cheer  my  quarters, 
and  best  of  all,  some  one  to  sympathize  with  me  when 
I've  had  a  row  with  "  Old  Graball,"  who,  by  the  way,  was 
the  regimental  quartermaster,  and  the  only  man  in  the 
regiment  that  John  detested,  and  wnth  w^hom  he  was  contin- 
ually skirmishing.  Now  when  a  man  decides  to  marry, 
there  is  generally  some  one  in  his  mind's  eye  ;  but  with 
Jack  this  was  not  at  all  the  case.  In  fact,  this  important 
feature  seemed  to  have  escaped  him  entirely,  and  he  only 
thought  of  the  future  Mrs.  Talbot  in  a  general  hazy  sort 
of  a  way.  '  Now  there'll  be  no  false  sentiments  about 
this, '  he  confided  to  his  particular  friend,  Dick  Abbey,  the 
first  lieutenant  of  his  company.  '  I  intend  to  make  this 
purely  a  matter  of  business.  In  the  first  place  I  shall  select 
some  nice,  sensible,  w-ell-bred  girl,  who  can  pay  her  own 
mess  bill,  state  the  case  to  her  exactly,  show  to  her  the 
mutual  advantages  of  such  a  combination,  and— presto  ! 
the  thing  is  done.  Then  we'll  settle  down  to  a  quiet, 
home-like  hfe,  live  economically,  pay  my  debts,  and  become 
the  best  of  friends  in  the  world.  No,  sir,'  continued  Jack, 
becoming  quite  animated  with  his  theme,  '  no  mawkish 
sentiments  for  me  ;  given  good  hard  common  sense,  mu- 
tual respect  and  confidence,  and  the  result  is  marital 
happiness.' 


THE   SENIOR   LIEUTENANT'S  STORY.  35 

"  There  was  an  amused  smile  ou  Dick  Abbey's  handsome 
face,  as,  after  listening  to  Jack's  homily,  be  said :  '  But, 
old  man  suppose  the  girl  says  no  ? '  '  Oh,  come  now — 
she'll  hardly  saj'  that,  you  know ;  marriage  is  the 
ultimatum,  or  rather  the  mission  of  all  women,'  Jack 
continued  ;  '  there  are  plenty  of  just  the  kind  of  girls 
I've  described  to  you — that  would  be  glad  of  the  oppor- 
tunity. Of  course,'  he  continued,  as  Dick  was  about  to 
reply — '  of  course  I  know  what  you  are  going  to  say — 
that  marriage  without  love  means  unhappiness,  or  affec- 
tionate toleration,  at  the  most ;  but  really,  old  man,  I 
think  you're  entirely  wrong  ;  who  is  it  that  says,  "  Even 
perfect  love  cannot  last  more  than  six  j-ears  ' '  ?  Can  six 
years  of  even  ideal  love  repay  for  years  and  years  of  vain 
regret  after  the  awakening  has  come,  after  all  illusions 
have  been  dispelled,  and  after  the  glamour  has  faded  and 
worn  away.  Nay,  nay,  my  good  Dick,  prate  me  not  of 
woman's  love.'  And  Jack  looked  at  his  companion  with 
an  air  of  triumph,  that  reminded  one  strongly  of  Joe 
Willet  after  one  of  his  celebrated  arguments. 

'  "Well,  old  fellow,  I  wish  you  luck,'  Dick  said  after 
some  little  silence  ;  '  you  know  you  have  my  ver}'  best 
wishes,  but  I  would  advise  you  to  consider  the  matter 
very  carefully  before  taking  any  action  '  And  declining 
Jack's  hospitable  offer  of  a  toddy,  he  bade  him  a  hearty 
good-night,  and  left.  For  some  time  after  his  departure 
Jack  sat  silently  smoking  an  imported  cigar  (one  of  the 
sacrifices  in  futuruni)  and  busily  engaged  with  the 
absorbing  idea  that  had  lately  taken  complete  possession 
of  him.  Clearly  his  thoughts  were  of  the  pleasantest, 
for  his  face  generally  assumed  a  happy,  contented  expres- 
sion until  it  fairly  beamed,  and,  unable  any  longer  to 
restrain  himself,  he  burst  forth  into : 

'  Where  art  thou  now,  my  beloved  ' — 
with  (I  must  confess  it)  more  ardor  than  harmony. 


36  THE   colonel's   CHRISTMAS   DINNER. 

"  This  was  an  unfortunate  proceeding  on  his  part  how- 
ever, for  it  aroused  old  Graball,  who  lived  across  the 
hall,  and  who,  as  soon  as  he  heard  Jack  singing,  came  to 
his  door  and  proceeded  to  give  a  very  successful  imitation 
of  a  dog  howling  in  great  pain. 

"  For  some  time  the  harmonious  blending  of  the  voices 
was  kept  up,  until  the  absurdity  of  the  situation  striking 
Jack,  he  ceased  singing  and  burst  into  a  roar  of  laughter, 
much  to  the  Quartermaster's  distrust  and  surprise,  who 
thereupon  incontinently  fled. 

"  Peace  having  been  once  more  restored,  the  matri- 
monially disposed  warrior  donned  his  cap  and  cape  and 
proceeded  leisurely  to  the  club  to  give  the  fellows  one 
more  chance  before  he  left  forever  the  charmed  but 
wicked  circle  of  army  bachelors.  It  was  a  gala  night  at 
the  club  ;  somebody  was  having  a  birthdaj^,  and  Talbot's 
appearance  was  hailed  with  cheers  and  cries  of  a  hearty 
welcome. 

"  All  the  bachelors  were  there  and  a  few  of  the  married 
men  whose  waves  were  temporarily  sojourning  in  the 
East.  The  affair  was  highly  successful — all  bumpers  and 
no  heel-taps  was  the  rule— and  jollity  and  good  fellow- 
ship reigned  supreme.  It  is  hard  to  particularize  at  this 
late  date  all  that  occurred  ;  it  was  even  a  moderately 
difficult  thing  to  do  the  next  day  ;  but  the  great  event  of 
the  evening  was  a  song  by  Captain  O'Kellej^  which  was 
somewhat  interrupted  by  the  actions  of  the  junior  Lieu- 
tenant of  the  regiment,  who  insisted  on  shaking  hands 
with  the  Captain  after  every  line  or  two,  and  a  speech 
made  somewhat  later  on  by  Talbot,  entitled  '  Matrimony 
in  the  army,'  in  which  he  strongly  advocated  the  mar- 
riage of  all  officers,  irrespective  of  rank. 

"  His  little  effort  was  well  received  by  all  present  except 
a  few^  of  the  married  officers  and  the  irrepressible  junior, 


THE  SENIOR   LIEUTENANT'S  STORY.  37 

who,  immediately  upon  its  close,  rose  somewhat  unsteadily 
to  his  feet,  and  with  glowing  eyes  and  dishevelled  air 
and  manner  desired  to  know  if  the  eloquent  orator  in- 
tended anything  personal  in  his  remarks.  Having  been 
assured  to  the  contrary,  he  gravely  shook  hands  with 
Talbot  and  disappeared  from  view,  under  the  table  where 
he  contentedly  remained  until  the  party  broke  up  in  the 
wee  sma'  hours  of  the  morning. 

"The  next  morning,  in  conformity  with  his  new  resolu- 
tions, Talbot  omitted  the  customary  cocktail  or  bracer, 
and  after  the  completion  of  his  morning  duties  proceeded 
to  lay  out  the  plans  of  his  matrimonial  campaign. 

' '  Unfortunately  for  him ,  there  was  a  scarcity  of  eligible 
material  in  the  garrison  ;  in  fact,  to  be  precise,  there  were 
only  two  unmarried  girls  present— one  the  sister-in-law 
of  Captain  Dalton,  temporaril}-  visiting  him,  and,  as  she 
informed  everybody,  '  from  the  East.' 

"One  requisite  of  Talbot's  she  possessed,  viz.,  money 
— she  had  monej',  and,  rumor  said,  lots  of  it — but  then, 
poor  girl,  she  needed  it. 

' '  A  charming  thing  about  our  hero  was  his  great  love  of 
justice  or  equity,  as  he  called  it,  and  therefore  ]\Iiss 
Manon  was  duly  entered  on  'his  list,'  with  probable 
amount  of  fortune,  and  traits  and  characteristics  duly 
added. 

"'list  of  eligibles.' 

"'No.  I,  Miss  Dalton,  &c.,'  &c.,  and  then  the  list 
ended. 

' '  The  other  garrison  girl  was  practically  out  of  the  ques- 
tion— that  is,  from  a  matrimonial  point  of  view. 

"'Dear  winsome  little  Bessie  Rawson.'  And  Jack 
thought  of  her  with  a  sigh — if  she  only  had  the  wherewith  ; 
but  it  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  and  even  if  she  had  the 


38  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

monej',  there  was  her  father,  'Old  Rawson,'  to  consider, 
a  Captain  in  the  regiment,  and  one  of  the  worst  old  repro- 
bates in  it. 

"  Bessie  was  only  nineteen,  and  Jack  had  known  her 
during  his  entire  service  in  the  regiment ;  he  had  watched 
her  develop  from  a  shy,  awkward  girl  into  as  dainty  and 
pure  a  little  woman  as  ever  graced  the  sex  ;  and  then  she 
was  so  pretty,  and  withal  seemed  so  thoroughly  uncon- 
scious of  the  fact. 

"  As  a  child  she  had  always  been  devoted  to  him,  and  as 
they  were  in  the  same  company,  Mr.  Talbot  soon  grew  to 
be  Mr.  Jack,  a  custom  still  rigidly  adhered  to. 

"  'No,  it  won't  do,'  he  exclaimed  after  some  little 
thought,  '  it  won't  do  at  all ;  but  then,  as  she  is  the  only 
other  young  girl  in  the  garrison,  I'll  put  her  down  just  to 
see  how  it  looks.'  So  down  he  jotted  'No.  2,  Bessie 
Rawson,' and  then  quite  absent-mindedly  added,  'No 
mone}',  but  a  fortune  in  herself.' 

"Having  exhausted  the  garrison  eligibles.  Jack  con- 
sidered the  advisability  of  adding  some  of  the  girls  he 
knew  way  back  in  the  States  ;  but  before  he  could  do  so, 
there  came  a  sharp  knock  at  the  door,  and  following  it 
the  head  of  the  irrepressible  junior,  with  the  invitation 
'  Come  up  and  see  my  new  fox  terrier.  Jack  ;  he's  a  bird  ; 
were  going  to  have  a  christening '  and  without  waiting 
for  a  reply,  slammed  the  door  and  rushed  back  to  his 
quarters, 

"  A  new  dog — that  was  enough  for  Jack,  and,  dropping 
the  list,  he  started  in  pursuit  of  the  lucky  owner  of  the 
fox  terrier. 

Now  the  desk  at  which  he  had  been  writing  was  nearly 
in  line  with  one  of  the  windows  of  his  room,  and  the  day 
being  an  exceptionally  fine  one  for  November,  the 
window  had  been  left  open. 


THE  SENIOR   LIEUTENANT'S  STORY.  39 

"  All  hour  or  two  later,  when  Jack  came  back,  the  list 
had  disappeared. 

"Whether  the  disappearance  of  the  list  had  anything  to 
do  with  it,  it  is  hard  to  say,  but  the  truth  is  that  Jack's 
matrimonial  fever  abated  somewhat  during  the  next  week 
or  so.  Not  that  he  had  given  up  the  idea ;  no,  indeed  ; 
he  still  preached  matrimony  to  the  junior  (whenever  he 
could  get  that  doughty  warrior  to  listen  to  him),  and 
religiously  adhered  to  all  his  good  resolutions. 

"November  drifted  rapidly  away,  and  with  December 
came  a  cessation  of  all  outside  duties,  except  the  absolute- 
ly necessary  ones,  and  an  increase  of  gayeties. 

"Jack  seemed  to  share  a  great  deal  of  Miss  Manon's 
time,  and  it  was  soon  an  understood  thing  (among  the 
ladies  at  least)  that  Mr.  Talbot  was  really  in  earnest, 
and  that  an  engagement  might  be  expected  soon. 

"  During  this  period  Jack  saw  little  of  Bessie  Raw^son  ; 
she  attended  the  hops  and  parties,  but  generally  attended 
by  the  young  bachelor  Doctor. 

"  And  what  a  contrast  there  was  between  the  girls  ! 
"Miss  Manon  was  ahvays  gorgeous,  and  Jack,  who  really 
had  an  appreciation  for  the  beautiful,  would  let  his  eyes 
wander   towards   Miss  Raw^son,  charming  and  restful  in 
the  plainest  of  gowns. 

"  In  order  to  repay  some  of  their  social  obligations,  the 
bachelors  issued  invitations  for  a  swell  hop  on  the  24th  of 
December,  and  Jack  (dreadfully  pressed  by  some  of  his 
creditors),  after  carefully  considering  all  the  pros  and 
cons,  decided  to  strike  the  last  blow  of  his  campaign  on 
that  night. 

"  He  had  no  fear  of  a  refusal ;  the  girl  seemed  to  under- 
stand the  affair  thoroughly  ;  it  certainly  was  a  fair  ex- 
change.    Miss  Manon  wanted  a  husband  and  he  wanted 


40  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

money,  and  marriage  meant— well,  he  hardly  liked  to  think 
what  it  might  mean  in  the  future  ;  and  then  there  came 
before  him  the  face  of  Bessie,  with  her  tender  eyes,  win- 
some ways  and 

"  P'shaw  !— p'raps  the  girl  had  never  given  him  a  se- 
rious thought — he  was  a  fool  to  think  of  such  things  —to 
be  sure,  they  have  always  been  the  best  of  friends  and 
then  p'raps  after  all  Miss  Manon  might  say— No,  it  w^as 
not  to  be  thought  of.  Money — money — he  must  have  it 
— he  would  pay  off  all  his  debts  ;  take  a  long  leave  ;  do 
the  continent,  come  back  to  the  regiment  and  then — 
we'll 

"When  Talbot,  rather  low-spirited  and  dejected,  called 
for  Miss  Manon  on  the  night  of  the  24th,  he  was  positively 
startled  at  the  girl's  appearance  ;  she  was  almost  pretty  in 
a  becoming  gown,  and  there  was  a  look  of  suppressed  ex- 
citement on  her  face  that  added  very  materially  to  it. 

"  And  then  the  bright,  happy  manner  in  which  she 
chatted  to  him  ;  it  was  a  revelation.  '  By  Jove  !'  thought 
he,  ('  she's  not  so  bad  after  all  ;'  and  by  the  time  they  had 
arrived  at  the  hat-room  he  was  more  than  half  reconciled 
to  his  apparent  fate.  Of  course  everybody  was  there,,  and 
looking  around  the  room  he  -caught  a  glimpse  of  Bessie 
Rawson  and  the  Doctor  comfortably  seated  in  one  of  the 
comers  of  the  room,  apparently  quite  contented. 

"  She  gave  him  quite  the  brightest  and  happiest  little 
smile  when  she  saw  him,  but  before  he  could  get  to  her 
she  was  claimed  and  whirled  out  of  sight. 

"  During  the  entire  evening  Talbot  was  restless  and  ill 
at  ease. 

After  all,  it  wasn't  such  an  easy  thing  to  propose  to 
a  girl. 

Of  course,  if  one  loved  the  woman  it  would  be  differ- 
ent ;  but  then  to  cold-bloodedly  ask  a  girl  to  marr>-  you, 


THE  SENIOR   LIEUTENANT'S  STORY.  41 

simply  because  she  had  money  ;  it  was  a  contemptible 
thing,  unmanly,  cadish — but  in  this  case  quite  neces- 
sary,' sighed  the  poor  devil,  and  he  waited  his  chance. 

' '  Just  before  supper  there  was  an  interv^al  of  fifteen  min- 
utes, and,  seizing  the  opportunity,  he  asked  Miss  Manonto 
take  a  little  stroll  out  on  the  porch — '  I've  something 
very  important  to  say  to  you '  he  continued,  noticing 
her  surprised  expression,  and  together  they  left  the  hop- 
room. 

' '  There  were  few  people  outside,  and  they  walked  up 
and  down  for  a  few"  minutes  in  utter  silence. 

"  Presently  Jack  said  : 

"  '  Miss  Manon— I,'  and  then  came  to  a  dead  stop. 

"  '  Yes,  Mr.  Talbot?'  encouragingl}-. 

"  '  I — Miss  Manon,  will  you  be  my  w4fe?' 

"'This  is  very  sudden,  Mr.  Talbot;'  her  voice  was 
wonderfully  quiet  and  contained. 

"  'Yes,  I  know  it's  sudden  ;  but  then  I  w^anted  to  ask  you 
for  some  time.  Of  course  I  haven't  much  to  offer  j-ou. 
I'm  only  a  poor  Lieutenant  in  a  marching  regiment 
on  a  small  salar}-,  but -but — we've  known  one  another 
for  some  time  now,  and  ^-ou've  growm  very  dear  to  me, 
and  I'll  try  to  make  3-ou  happy,'  and  egged  on  by  the 
thought  of  his  unappeased  creditors,  he  warmed  up  to  his 
work  and  continued  in  the  same  strain  for  some  little  time. 

' '  She  listened  silently  to  all  he  had  to  say,  and  when  she 
raised  her  face  to  his,  there  was  a  soft  light  in  her  eyes  and 
a  sweet,  tremulous  look  about  the  mouth  that  argued  well 
in  his  behalf 

"  '  And  you  do  love  me  ?'  she  asked 

"  'With  all  my  soul,'  came  his  quiet  reply,  and  Jack 
bent  over  until  his  head  was  suspiciously  close  to  hers. 

"  Only  a  moment,  and  then  with  a  quick  gesture  the  girl 
drew  herself  away — 'And  now  take  me  in,  please.' 
B2 


42  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

"  '  But  your  answer  ?'  he  persisted. 

" 'Shall  be  my  Christmas  gift  to  you  to-morrow,'  she 
replied  with  a  bright  smile,  and  with  this  he  was  fain 
to  rest  content. 

;(i  ;;C  jjc  Jjc  ^  ^  'i^  'i^ 

' '  For  some  time  after  the  hop  Jack  sat  in  front  of  the 
comfortalile  fire  in  his  quarters  smoking  and .  thinking 
over  the  night's  incidents. 

"The  girl  reall)'  loved  him  and  would  make  him  a  good 
w4fe — that  was  evident  ;  and  he — well,  he  liked  her  fairly 
well.  To  be  sure,  he  hadn't  told  the  exact  truth  ;  but 
what  was  a  man  to  say  to  a  woman  who  asked  such  em- 
barrassing questions  — 

"  '  And  you  do  love  me  ?' 

"  Why,  of  course  he  loved  her  (in  a  way),  and  no  doubt 
in  a  year  or  so  of  married  life  would  become  quite  fond  of 
her,  and,  humming  softly  to  himself,  he  put  out  the  lamp 
and  went  to  bed. 

"  The  next  morning,  when  Jack  came  to  breakfast  at  the 
mess,  he  found  all  the  fellows  there,  and  lying  in  front  of 
his  plate  two  envelopes  addressed  to  him. 

"  He  recognized  Miss  Manon's  writing  at  once — but  the 

other— 'why  certainly  it  w^as  Bessie's,'  and  Jack  opened 

it  first. 

'Garrison,  Dec.  25th,  18—. 

'  My  Dear  Mr.  Jack : 

'  Do  you  remember  a  promise  I  made  you,  when  I  was  a  little 
girl  (years  ago),  that  I  would  tell  you  of  my  first  proposal?  Well, 
it  has  come,  and  I  want  to  be  the  first  to  tell  you  of  my  engage- 
ment to  Dr.  Roberts.' 

"  But  Jack  read  no  more. 

"  'So  Bessie  Rawson  was  engaged  ?  well  what  of  it? 
wasn't  he— or  just  about  to  be' — and  then  he  slowly 
opened  the  other  envelope. 


CHILL  AND   FEVER.  43 

"Great  Heavens!  what  was  this?  a  sheet  of  weather- 
stained  and  soiled  paper  ;  he  unfolded  it  almost  mechanic- 
ally, and  there  he  saw  staring  him  in  the  face  the  lost 
'  List  of  Eligibles,'  and  beneath  it,  in  Miss  Manon's  wri- 
ting :  'It's  an  ill  wind  that  blows  nobody  good  '  —  and  the 
bachelors  were  all  surprised  when  Talbot  suddenly  ex- 
claimed :  '  "Damn  the  wind '—and  left  the  table,  his 
breakfast  untouched." 

"  A  beautiful  moral  lesson— in  one  respect  at  least,  Mr. 
Briggs,"  was  the  Colonel's  comment,  "  and  I'm  glad  to 
learn  that  manners  and  morals  have  both  improved  in 
Talbot's  regiment  since  the  days  of  which  you  tell.  Now 
Captain  Rowan,  mighty  hunter  of  the  — th,  people  down 
this  end  of  the  table  are  clamoring  to  hear  from  you." 

"  But  I  haven't  any  Christmas  story  handy,"  said  the 
tall  company  commander,  a  bronzed,  soldierly  man  who 
looked  the  stories  told  of  him— that  years  of  his  life  had 
been  spent  scouting,  hunting,  campaigning  from  Assini- 
boia  to  the  Gulf.  ' '  I  never  saw  spirits  or  ghosts,  like  X. 
and  never  knew  Briggs'  friend  Talbot " 

"///  tell  you  when  you  saw  ghosts— Indian  ghosts, 
Rowan.  That  was  the  time  you  were  chased  into  Wallace. 
Tell  us  about  that,"  called  Captain  Wayne. 

"Well— that's  something  that  might  happen  to  any- 
body," laughed  Rowan.  "  I  call  it  my  first  experience 
with 

CHILL  AND  FEVER. 

CHILL. 

"  Probably  but  a  small  proportion  of  those  who  read  of 
the  wonderful  sand-storms  and  mirages  of  the  African 
deserts  are  aware  that  the  same,  phenomena  on  almost 
as  large  a  scale  can  be  seen  in  our  own  country.     Along 


44         THE  colonel's  chrlstmas  dinner. 

the  borders  of  some  of  the  streams  of  Oklahoma,  on  the 
plains  of  eastern  Washington  and  Oregon,  as  well  as  on 
the  Gila  desert  in  Arizona,  the  sand-dunes  change  their 
forms  with  every  passing  wind,  and  the  dry  and  shimmer- 
ing plains  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  as  well  as  those  near 
Laramie  and  on  the  upper  course  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
furnish  miragic  views  which  astonish  and  charm  the 
beholder.  Wide-spreading  lakes  tantalize  the  unsophis- 
ticated traveler  or  hunter  ;  a  buifalo  skull  with  a  raven 
perched  upon  it  becomes  a  white  steed  bearing  a  sable 
rider  ;  the  coyote  sneaking  across  the  field  of  vision  a  mile 
away  assumes  the  proportion  of  a  lion,  and,  in  the  days 
of  buffalo,  a  herd  seemed  often  aerial  nondescripts, 
deriving  sustenance  from  the  air  in  which  they  were 
apparently  floating. 

' '  Prior  to  the  opening  of  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railway,  and 
in  fact,  down  to  the  70's,  the  whole  of  the  countr>^  lying 
west  of  the  settlements  in  Kansas,  and  along  the  Platte, 
swarmed  with  game  of  all  kinds  peculiar  to  the  plains. 
Officers  of  the  army  stationed  on  the  routes  in  Kansas, 
could  at  times  count  buffalo  by  thousands,  while  stand- 
ing at  their  doors  ;  antelope  dotted  the  prairie  in  all  direc- 
tions, or,  gathered  in  bands  of  hundreds,  in  the  autumn 
furnished  sport  for  the  hunter,  as  well  as  the  finest  of 
meat  for  the  soldiers'  table.  In  the  timber  along  some  of 
the  streams  deer  could  be  found,  and  among  the  rocky 
and  storm-worn  blulTs  bordering  other  portions  of  the  lar- 
ger water-courses  '  black-tails  '  or  '  mule  deer  '  repaid  the 
toil  of  the  sportsman.  There  was  a  spice  of  danger,  too, 
to  give  a  zest  to  the  sport,  and  it  was  not  certain  that  the 
hunter  would  not  become  the  hunted,  if  he  ventured 
far  away  from  his  '  base  '  at  the  post  or  camp  of  the  mili- 
tary, or  the  train  of  wagons  with  which  he  was  travel- 
ing. 


CHILL  AND   FEVKR.  45 

"Fort  Wallace  was  situated  on  the  Smoky  Hill  Run, 
abouV420  miles  west  of  Kansas  City,  on  the  line  of  the 
stage-road  from  that  place  to  Denver,  and  was  for  about 
three  years  my  army  home.  Directly  across  the  insignif- 
icant rivulet  called  '  the  river,'  and  about  two  and  a  half 
miles  from  the  garrison,  the  steep  bluffs  bordering  the  val- 
ley were  broken  into  rough,  rocky  defiles  and  canons, 
and  in  them  a  herd  of  '  black-tails  '  had  frequently  been 
seen,  during  the  summer  and  early  autumn  of  '70.  No 
signs  of  Indians  had  been  discovered  near  the  place  for 
over  a  year,  and,  thinking  the  venture  a  comparatively 
safe  one,  one  Novemljer  morning  concluded  to  '  try  for ' 
a  deer.  My  own  hunting-pony  was  not  at  hand,  and  I 
borrowed  from  the  corral  one  which  had  been  picked 
up  on  the  prairie  some  time  during  the  season,  and  would 
stand  fire  without  flinching.  In  fact,  he  would  stand  any- 
thing, and  stand  it  all  day,  and  as  for  speed,  any  good 
train-ox  could  outrun  him,  and  he  was  warranted  to  en- 
dure any  amount  of  '  heel-persuasion '  his  rider  had  lei- 
sure or  disposition  to  bestow  upon  him.  But  I  had  no 
thought  that  speed  would  be  required  of  him  that  day  ; 
and  leashing  my  dog,  a  powerful  and  speedy  lurcher,  I 
started  early  for  the  haunts  of  the  deer. 

"The  morning  was  cold,  and  over  the  lower  grounds 
along  the  river  a  thick  fog  hid  most  of  the  countrj-  from 
view,  and  I  found  it  yet  more  dense  in  the  '  breaks  '  among 
the  bluffs.  Still,  as  I  had  a  favorable  wind,  and  could 
see  a  short  distance,  I  carefully  picked  my  way  among 
the  rocks,  hoping  to  get  a  shot  at  short  range.  As  the  sun 
rose  the  fog  became  less  opaque,  and  above  it  I  could  see 
the  highest  points  of  the  bluffs,  when  suddenly,  from 
just  at  the  feet  of  my  pony,  a  jack-rabbit  sprang  up  and 
hopped  leisurely  away.  The  sight  was  too  tempting  for 
the  dog's  obedience.     A  plunge  or  two  parted  the  leash 


46  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

at  his  collar,  and  away  went  game  and  hound  at  racing 
speed,  up  the  ravine.  I  followed  at  the  best  rate  of  speed 
I  could  get  out  of  the  pony  over  the  rocky  ground,  but  by 
the  time  I  had  gained  the  head  of  the  gorge,  for  such  it 
became  before  reaching  the  prairie,  the  game  had  time  to 
have  left  the  countr>^  A  thin  haze  then  hid  the  face  of 
the  landscape,  and  I  could  not  trail  the  dog  on  the  hard 
soil.  I  was  at  a  loss  which  direction  to  take,  but  rode  to 
the  summit  of  the  nearest  swell  of  ground  in  the  vicinity, 
to  reconnoiter.  Nothing  could  be  seen  of  the  dog,  and  I 
was  turning  the  pony's  head  to  try  another  direction, 
when  I  saw  something  that  drove  dog  and  rabbit  out  of 
my  thoughts.  My  heart  gave  one  bound,  and  stopped 
beating  for  an  instant,  and  the  cold  sweat  stood  out  in 
bead-like  drops  on  my  face,  while  down  my  spine  ran  a 
chill  that  was  ice-like  in  its  intensit}'.  Not  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  away,  on  the  next  rise  of  ground,  half 
a  dozen  swarthy  figures  loomed  above  the  fog,  and  stood  out 
in  bold  relief  against  the  horizon,  and  while  I  looked 
others  cantered  up.  Then,  at  a  gallop,  they  started  in  my 
direction.  '  How  fleet  is  a  glance  of  the  mind  ! '  I  was 
at  least  six  miles  from  the  post,  on  a  pony  whose  best 
speed  I  could  almost  equal  if  on  foot,  if  I  chose  to  try  the 
ravine  for  shelter.  I  might  not  at  once  find  a  place  where 
they  could  be  descended  by  my  animal,  and,  once  in 
them,  I  was  liable  to  be  lost  in  the  fog,  only  to  be  found 
when  it  cleared  away,  with  my  retreat  cut  off— if  I  ran  for 
home.  I  must  ride  at  least  three  miles  before  I  could  get 
to  a  point  where  my  flight  could  be  seen  by  friends,  and 
assistance  .sent.  All  this  and  more  went  through  my 
mind  like  an  electric  thrill,  and  whirling  the  pony  sharp- 
ly to  the  left,  I  plied  the  '  government  brass  '  in  a  way 
that  astonished  him,  and  got  all  the  speed  out  of  him 
that  was  possible.     As  I  looked  back  I  could  see  the 


CHILL  AND   FEVER.  47 

heads  of  my  pursuers,  rising  and  falling  upon  the  mist, 
though  apparently  not  gaining  much.  Half  a  mile  to 
the  eastward  of  what  I  had  supposed  to  be  my  position 
when  I  started,  the  descent  from  the  high  prairie  was 
smooth  and  easy,  and  I  had  directed  my  course  for  that 
point.  But  I  found  that  I  had  lost  the  direction,  and  was 
stopped  by  the  perpendicular  wall  of  a  branch  ravine, 
which  gave  no  foot-hold  for  man  or  beast ;  so  turning 
squarely  to  my  right,  I  continued  my  flight  in  that  direc- 
tion. As  I  changed  I  looked  back,  but  the  fog  hid  my 
enemy  from  view.  A  few  hundred  yards  on  I  reached 
the  head  of  the  ravine,  and  turning  again  to  the  left,  rode 
in  the  direction  of  the  garrison.  But  the  pace  was  tell- 
ing on  my  steed,  and  it  was  only  by  constant  use  of  the 
spur  that  I  could  keep  him  in  even  a  moderate  canter.  My 
only  hope  was  that  he  could  hold  out  till  I  could  reach 
the  brow  of  the  slope,  whence  smoke  of  shots  could  be 
seen  at  the  post;  then  shooting  him,  use  his  body  as  a 
defence,  and  make  the  best  fight  I  could,  trusting  that 
succor  would  reach  me  as  soon  as  possible.  By  the  time 
he  reached  it  he  was  down  to  a  walk,  and  finding  a  slight 
'  wash-out,'  just  at  the  brow^  from  which  I  could  see  the 
post,  I  halted  to  fight  it  out.  As  I  faced  southward,  I 
found  that  a  slight  breeze,  before  which  I  had  been  run- 
ing,  had  dispersed  the  fog  behind  me,  and  my  pursuers 
were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  While  I  looked,  my  dog,  fol- 
lowing the  trail  of  my  horse,  came  into  view  where  I  had 
struck  the  ravine,  and  a  few  hundred  yards  in  his  rear 
were  my  pursuers — a  band  of  eleveyi  antelopes.  The  dog, 
which  was  nearly  white,  had  killed  or  lost  his  game,  and, 
returning  to  me,  had  attracted  their  attention,  and,  with 
the  curiosity  which  lures  so  many  of  them  to  their  death, 
they  were  following  him. 

"  The  reaction  was  in  a  degree  pleasant,  but,  the  tension 


48  THE   colonel's  CHRISTMAS   DINNER. 

gone,  I  found  myself  too  weak  to  ride,  and  man  and  liorse 
took  a  good  long  rest  before  going  on  to  the  fort. 

"  I  said  nothing  of  my  stampede,  till  after  I  had  heard  an 
older  officer  tell  how  he  was  '  scared  out  of  his  boots' 
at  the  sight  of  a  herd  of  elk  on  Laramie  plains,  thinking 
them  Indian  ponies  ;    then  I  could  afford  to  tell  it. 

II.  FEVER. 

"The  plains  of  Western  Kansas  furnish  a  rich  field  for 
'the  fossil-hunters.'  They  have  in  pre-historic  ages 
been  the  bed  of  a  shallow  sea,  and  in  the  blue  shale, 
which  underlies  most  of  their  area,  and  crops  out  to  the 
surface  in  the  sides  of  the  wind  and  rain-swept  '  buttes,' 
the  geologist  and  paleontologist  find  many  rare  and  val- 
uable specimens.  During  the  years  in  which  I  ser^^ed  in 
that  region,  several  of  the  first  scientists  of  the  country 
paid  visits  to  the  sections  lying  about  Forts  Hayes  and 
Wallace,  and  their  discoveries  were  very  valuable.  They 
generally  came  to  the  posts  provided  with  letters  or  or- 
ders from  Department  Commanders,  or  from  the  Secre- 
tary of  War,  directing  commanding  officers  to  furnish 
them  with  such  escorts  as  could  be  spared,  and  the  duty 
was  one  sought  after  bj'-  both  officers  and  enlisted  men. 
'  The  professors '  were  generally  genial  men,  good  talk- 
ers, and  ready  to  impart  information  to  any  one  who 
wished  it.  One,  a  naturalist,  who  looked  after  the  things 
of  the  present  as  well  as  of  the  past  ages,  created  a  com- 
motion at  a  dinner  table  one  day,  when  a  small  snake, 
which,  for  want  of  a  better  place  to  confine  it,  he  had 
placed  in  an  inside  pocket  of  his  -coat,  and  covered  with 
his  handkerchief,  escaped  from  it  to  the  table,  just  as  the 
company  had  seated  themselves.  The  ophidian  was 
harmless  as  my  antelopes,  but  the  stampede  was  as  bad 
as  mine,  and  the  really  strange  and  beautiful  'sarpint' 


CHILL   AND   FEVER.  49 

was  mashed  out  of  all  its  proportions  b}-  the  boot-heel  of 
one  of  the  gentlemen  present,  before  it  could  be  re-cap- 
tured by  its  possessor. 

' '  But  '  the  champion  bone-hunter, '  as  he  was  desig- 
nated b}-^  the  soldiers,  was  a  professor  of  paleontology  from 
one  of  the  principal  eastern  colleges,  who  was  accustomed 
to  make  extended  tours  with  classes  of  students  of  his 
favorite  science,  and  who,  except  in  the  instance  about  to 
be  related,  had  no  use  for  any  bones  which  did  not  ante- 
date Old  Father  Adam,  and  the  farther  back  they  had  ex- 
isted, the  better.  Not  zcag-on -loads  only,  but  mr-loads  of 
fossils  were  found  and  shipped  by  him,  and  he  was  known 
to  have  worked  for  days,  with  a  pick  and  spade,  unearth- 
ing a  single  specimen. 

"  His  first  visit  was  made  the  next  autumn  after  the 
events  already  related  had  occurred.  With  a  dozen  or 
more  of  students,  he  had  spent  weeks  in  the  valley  of 
Snake  River,  in  Idaho,  and,  on  his  way  back  to  the  East, 
stopped  at  Fort  Wallace,  with  three  or  four  of  his  party. 
His  time  was  limited,  but  he  wished  to  take  a  look  at  the 
country,  and  to  see  a  buflfalo-hunt,  as  he  had  not  seen  any 
of  the  animals  in  a  wild  state.  They  could  be  found  with- 
in a  few  miles  of  the  post,  and  the  morning  after  his  arri- 
val two  officers,  with  about  half  a  dozen  mounted  soldiers, 
reported  as  his  escort  for  the  hunt.  His  party  were  fur- 
nished an  ambulance  for  the  trip,  and  I  handed  him  a 
rifle  and  forty  rounds  of  ammunition.  The  students  had 
their  own  Winchesters.  He  expressed  his  thanks,  but 
said  he  did  not  need  it,  '  had  no  thoughts  of  doing  any 
shooting,  was  onl}^  going  to  look  on,'  etc.,  but  yielded  on 
being  told  that  no  one  was  allowed  to  leave  the  post 
without  being  armed.  The  ground  selected  was  that 
over  which  I  had  been  the  time  before  alluded  to,  as  an 
examination  of  the  rock-formations  could  be  made  better 
8 


50  THE  COI^ONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

there  thau  elsewhere  near  the  post,  and  the  officers  took 
seats  with  the  party  for  the  time,  leading  their  saddled 
horses,  while  the  mounted  enlisted  men  accompanied  a 
wagon  taken  along  to  bring  in  the  beef.  Only  a  cursory 
examination  of  the  rocky  defiles  was  made,  the  savant 
deciding  at  once  that  they  contained  no  fossils,  and  the 
party  was  soon  near  the  head  of  one  of  the  ravines,  from 
which  egress  to  the  prairie  above  was  practicable  for  vehi- 
cles. A  man,  sent  ahead  to  reconnoiter,  reported  several 
small  herds  on  the  prairie  not  far  away,  and  tightening 
their  pistol-belts,  and  the  '  cinches '  of  their  saddles,  the 
officers  threw  their  outer  coats  into  the  ambulance,  and 
mounted  for  the  run.  The  '  fossil-party '  were  told  that 
they  could  see  most  of  the  chase  from  some  rising  ground 
half  a  mile  ahead,  to  which  the  driver  was  directed  to 
proceed,  and  also  cautioned  to  keep  a  look-out  for  other 
of  the  game,  which  was  probably  in  other  ravines,  and 
would  run  for  the  prairie  as  soon  as  they  '  winded '  the 
hunters. 

"As  the  mounted  men  reached  the  upland,  probably  two 
thousand  buffalo,  in  small  herds,  were  in  sight,  some  of 
them  not  more  than  two  hundred  yards  away.  The 
charge  was  ordered,  and,  'every  man  for  himself,'  the 
hunters  started.  I  kept  up  the  chase  till  both  my  revol- 
vers were  emptied,  and  had  dropped  three,  and  then 
pulled  up  to  find  myself  alone,  and  more  than  a  mile  from 
the  nearest  hunter. 

' '  There  was  always  one  danger  in  running  buffalo  in  the 
Indian  Countr>^  The  hunter,  engrossed  solely  in  the  pur- 
suit of  his  game,  lost  all  idea  of  course  or  distance,  and  a 
run  of  four  or  five  miles  was  not  an  unusual  thing,  and 
at  the  end  of  that  the  sportsman  found  himself  alone  on 
the  prairie,  with  empty  pistols  and  a  tired-out  steed,  in  a 
most  defenceless  state  if  suddenly  attacked. 


CHILL   AND   FEVER.  51 

"  I  was  soon  joined  b}-  the  other  officer,  and  we  waited 
for  the  wagon  to  come  up  and  get  our  game,  in  the  mean 
time  scanning  the  ground  along  the  horizon  for  some 
sign  of  the  ambulance.  But  we  looked  in  vain,  and  as 
soon  as  the  beef  was  loaded  we  retraced  our  steps  in 
search  of  the  Professor.  Nearly  two  miles  back  we  met 
one  of  the  party,  his  face  wearing  a  disgusted  look,  as 
though  he  did  not  think  much  of  buffalo-hunting.  To 
our  inquiries  about  the  others  he  replied, — 

"  '  I  don't  know  where  they  are.  The  driver  took  us  up 
to  that  place  you  pointed  out,  and  just  as  we  reached  it 
a  small  herd  came  rushing  up  from  the  ravines,  and  "  the 
old  man  ' '  told  us  to  get  out  and  get  a  shot,  and  as  we 
jumped  out  another  herd  came  along,  and  he  told  the 
driver  to  drive  on,  and  left  us  out  in  the  cold,  and  by  that 
time  the  herd  we  had  first  seen  had  run  ofi"  out  of  reach. 
The  last  I  saw  of  the  team  it  was  away  off  in  that  direc- 
tion (pointing  to  the  southwest),  and  I  think  it  was  run- 
ning away.' 

"  Turning  in  the  direction  indicated,  we  galloped  off  in 
search  of  the  lost  man,  and  rode  nearly  two  miles  before, 
as  much  farther  away,  we  saw  the  ambulance  halted,  and 
a  man  apparently  at  work  on  a  carcass.  Riding  up,  we 
found  the  team  all  right,  and  the  Professor  at  work.  He 
was  a  sight  !  Had  killed  a  j'oung  bull  (as  the  driver 
told  it,  '  had  filled  him  too  full  of  lead  for  him  to  carry '), 
had  lost  his  hat,  and  in  lieu  of  it  had  tied  a  white  hand- 
kerchief about  his  head, — throv/n  off  his  coat,  and,  with 
only  a  knife  '  hacked  worse  than  two  saws, '  and  which 
had  been  used  all  the  trip  for  digging  fossils,  he  was  en- 
deavoring to  cut  off  the  animal's  head  as  a  trophy.  His 
hands  and  arms  were  bloody,  his  face  dripped  with  per- 
spiration, and  in  trying  to  wipe  it  away  he  had  forgotten 
that  his  hands  were  bloody,  and  had  stained   face,  hair 


62  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

and  the  handkerchief  with  gore,  till  he  looked  worse  than 
a  Chicago  butcher.  We  sent  the  driver  back  to  bring  up 
the  wagon,  and  then  proceeded  to  assist  in  getting  off  the 
skin,  as  he  said  he  must  have  it  dressed  and  the  head 
mounted.  After  he  had  returned  to  the  post,  had  a  bath, 
and  cooled  down  mentally,  he  began  to  think  how  he 
must  have  looked  and  acted,  and  after  his  return  to  the 
East  it  was  soon  a  tabooed  subject.  The  driver's  story, 
told  to  his  fellows,  was  expressed  in  language  more  forci- 
ble than  eloquent.  Leaving  out  the  expletives,  it  was 
about  as  follows  : 

"  'He  wasn't  goin'  to  shoot  no  buffalo  !  Oh,  no  !  But 
after  he  got  them  young  fellows  out,  he  jest  went  plumb 
crazy,  an'  when  about  the  third  bunch  of  'em  run  past, 
he  poked  his  gun  out  past  my  head  an'  fired  right  over 
my  mules,  an'  they  went  in  spite  o'  me.  His  hat  blowed 
off,  and  I  wanted  to  go  back  fur  it,  but  he  sung  out  not 
to  mind  the  hat,  but  go  on,  and  bime  by  he  banged  away 
again,  and  then  the  buffaler  stopped,  an'  I  began  to  cir- 
cle 'round  him,  and  then  the  old  fellow  jumped  out  and 
was  goin'  to  run  right  up  on  him  ;  till  I  hollowed  that 
he'd  git  histedif  he  did,  and  then  he  jest  stood  off,  and 
pumped  lead  into  him  till  he  dropped.  Talk  about  ' '  buck 
ager  "—if  he  didn't  have  "  buffaler  fever  "  I'm  a  tender- 
foot.' 

"  The  Professor  came  back  the  next  year,  and  with  him 
came  one  of  the  same  party.  Scarcely  had  we  shaken 
hands  when  he  said,  '  Don't  say  buffalo  to  the  old  gen- 
tleman,— it  is  a  sore  subject.'  " 

"  And  now  it  is  time  we  had  a  love  stor3%"  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Grace.  "And  there's  one  man  at  least  whom  I 
know  will  do  the  subject  justice.  Most  of  you  have  no 
idea  of  it.  Come,  Major,"  and  she  glanced  at  a  tall,  sol- 
dierly fellow  sitting  about  midway  along  the  joyous  line 


TOM   CARRINGTON'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  53 

to  her  left.  All  eyes  are  alread}^  centred  on  him.  In  love 
or  war  "  the  Major  "  was  regarded  as  thoroughly  at  home. 

"  Drive  on,  Major.  If  any  one  has  been  there,  it's  you," 
exclaimed  Briggs  from  his  seat  across  the  board. , 

No  direct  reply  was  vouchsafed  the  light-hearted  young 
gentleman.  With  much  dignity  of  mien  the  Major 
waited  until  the  applause  which  greeted  this  especial  call 
had  subsided,  bowed  to  the  lady  of  the  bright  blue  eyes 
and  then  to  the  table  collectively,  and  began/ 


TOM  CARRINGTON'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT. 

"  Lieutenant  Tom  Carrington  accounted  himself  an  in- 
vulnerable man  so  far  as  matters  affecting  the  heart  were 
concerned.  He  had  gone  through  '  West  Point '  a  shining 
light  in  the  '  Bachelors'  Club,'  the  only  known  departure 
from  the  tenets  of  his  faith  having  been  an  enforced  five 
minutes'  chat  with  Miss  Mabel  Stoughton,  as  he  stood  in 
his  official  capacity,  watch  in  hand,  at  the  door  of  the 
hop-room,  waiting  to  give  that  awful  signal  which  put  an 
abrupt  termination  to  tete-a-tetes,  and  stilled  the  glowing 
words  upon  beardless  lips.  This  interview,  short  and 
unsought  as  it  was,  brought  upon  him  some  measure  of 
suspicion,  but  he  heroically  lived  it  down  and  went  out 
into  the  world  the  following  June,  with  an  escutcheon 
undimmed  by  any  act  of  abrogation  of  his  oath.  But 
five  minutes'  conversation  with  Miss  Mabel  Stoughton 
was  apt  to  create  strange  havoc  even  in  the  strong-hold  of 
youthful  susceptibility,  and  as  Tom  Carrington  walked 
to  camp  that  night  he  was  forced  to  acknowledge  to  him- 
self a  remarkably  pleasant  sensation,  and  he  seemed  to 
hear  a  faint  melody  as  of  silver  bells,  which  he  coupled 
with  Mabel's  voice  and  before  his  eyes  was  the  remem- 


64  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

bered  glint  upon  'curls  of  summer  gold,'  enframing  a  fair 
young  face.  But  he  shook  himself  together  and  devoted 
the  rest  of  the  night  to  the  '  plebs  '  who  were  on  guard, 
who,  could  they  have  known  the  cause  of  his  extra  atten- 
tion to  duty,  would  in  their  hearts  have  heartily  cursed 
that  five  minutes'  delay  in  the  beating  of  the  drum. 

"  In  the  winter  of  i88-  the  Judith  Basin  was  sparsely 
settled — onl^  here  and  there,  and  that  at  long  intervals, 
low,  rambling  sheep-sheds  proclaimed  the  nearness  of  a 
Ranch.  Time-honored  signs  had  given  the  ranchmen 
ample  indications  of  the  coming  of  a  rigorous  winter,  and 
fabulous  wood-piles  and  tons  of  well-stacked  hay  stood  as 
answer  to  the  warning.  Beyond  the  mountains,  mostly 
amid  the  foot-hills,  a  few  hastily  constructed  huts  serv'ed 
as  shelter  to  a  little  colony  of  soldiers,  dropped  there  as 
a  nucleus  of  an  army  post.  Herds  of  buffalo  ranged  over 
the  rolling  prairie-land  towards  the  west,  and  among  the 
foot-hills  elk  and  deer  and  antelope,  grouse  and  prairie- 
hen  were  as  yet  innocent  of  the  invasion  of  their  realm. 
Centrally  through  the  valle}-  a  rushing,  bubbling  trout 
stream  tumbled  its  limpid  waters  toward  the  Mussel-shell, 
musical  in  its  flow,  freighted  with  the  traditions  of  the  hills. 
And  these  stately  hills,  stretching  north  and  south  in  rug- 
ged, wild  upheaval,  hiding  the  crimson  and  passionate  hues 
outlining  the  purple  shadows  of  the  west  from  the  gentler 
suggestions  of  the  nascent  day,  like  kingly  sentinels  in  crest 
and  nodding  plume,  dominated  the  far  reaches  of  nature's 
gentler  aspect,  toward  the  rising  and  the  setting  sun.  Busily 
the  little  colony  worked  from  dawn  to  dark  upon  the  rude 
shelters  which  were  their  only  hope  against  the  ruder 
blasts  and  snows  of  coming  winter  ;  already  the  voices  of 
the  pines  upon  the  mountain  were  hoarse  and  muttering, 
and  here  and  there  a  peak,  higher  than  its  neighbors,  had 
caught  the  hoary  mask  of   Time    and  proclaimed  the 


TOM   CARRINGTON'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  55 

already  numbered  days  of  the  fading  year.  Bedecked  in 
sombre  vestment,  the  darkening  mountain  lay  waiting  for 
the  shock  of  winter's  battle,  with  here  and  there  a  crim- 
son gleam  of  ivy  showing,  like  a  '  rose  which  the  west 
has  flung  '  within  the  coil  of  a  woman's  raven  hair  while 
along  its  rugged  sides  the  echoes  played  of  hammer  and 
axe  and  human  call  from  the  busy  slope  below.  But  time 
and  labor  accomplish  most  things  and  November's  sway 
had  scarce  begun  when  the  little  garrison  was  snug  as 
need  be  for  the  winter.  Only  a  couple  of  companies  con- 
stituted the  garrison,  with  a  Major  in  command,  and  tw'o 
short  of  the  half-dozen  officers  whose  names  were  borne 
upon  the  rolls  ;  but,  then,  there  was  the  Dr.,  and  he  was 
worth  the  other  two  and  one  to  spare,  beside. 

' '  There  had  been  a  good  deal  of  speculation  among  the 
juniors  as  to  why  the  Major  insisted  upon  that  extra 
room  with  two  windows,  with  a  southern  exposure,  espec- 
ially as  time  was  limited  and  the  men  overworked  beside, 
and  when,  upon  mutual  inspection  and  comparison  of  the 
preparation  for  the  long  months  to  come,  the  dainty  fitting 
of  this  apartment  was  revealed  to  their  astonished  gaze, 
with  its  light  oak  furnishing  and  accessor}'  of  blue  and 
white,  its  heavy  rugs  and  bright  warm  curtains  ready  to 
swing  into  graceful  folds  in  opposition  to  encroaching 
blasts,  '  Confusion  was  worse  confounded,'  and  Mrs.  Wil- 
der vouchsafed  no  explanation  and  the  Major  held  his 
peace  as  a  wise  and  dutiful  husband  should. 

' '  A  couple  of  evenings  later.  Dr.  Archer  and  Lieutenant 
Bliss,  of  the  — th  foot,  were  seated  within  the  rather  narrow 
limits  of  that  particular  log  hut  which  had  been  reared 
for  the  accommodation  of  themselves  and  one  other,  and 
which  had  been  considered  in  the  present  emergency 
adequate  to  the  dignity  of  their  rank  and  years,  and  were 
in  the  enjoyment  of  one  of  those  pauses  in  their  game  of 


56  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS   DINNER. 

chess  which  the  replenishment  of  the  fire  and  their  pipes 
required,  and  had,  for  the  moment,  forgotten  the  very 
threatening  attitude  which  the  Dr.'s  Queen's  Bishop  had, 
by  a  masterly  play  just  assumed,  to  discuss  the  important 
matter  as  to  whether  lemon  was  an  adjunct  or  real  neces- 
sity^ in  a  '  hot  scotch  '  brew — when  Lieutenant  Tom  Car- 
rington  and  a  gust  of  wind  darted  simultaneously  into 
the  room  to  the  extinguishment  of  the  light  and  the  tem- 
porary change  of  subject.  '  Why  the  devil  don't  you 
come  down  the  chimney,  Tom,  or  give  notice  of  your 
approach — one  might  prepare  against  the  combination  of 
Tom   Carrington  and  Boreas  in  such   a  case.' 

"  '  Teddy,  I'm  truly  sorry,  for  light  has  such  a  mellowing 
influence  upon  your  voice  and,'  scratching  a  match,  '  I'll 
wager  anything  that  you  fellows  are  in  j^our  hearts  glad  to 
be  rid  of  the  sight  of  each  other  even  for  a  moment ;  but, 
there  you  are  again,  so  take  up  the  thread  of  your  argu- 
ment, and  peace  be  unto  you,'  and  Mr.  Carrington  began 
softly  whistling  an  air  from  Erminie,  as  he  divested  him- 
self of  top-coat  and  boots,  and  encased  his  feet  in  his  slip- 
pers and  his  form  in  his  smoking  jacket.  '  B)^  the  way, 
did  anybody  say — Welcome  !  Tom  ?  for  if  not,  there  may 
be  a  dearth  of  information,  which  I  am  prepared  to 
impart. ' 

' '  '  Welcome  !  Tom — thrice  welcome  ! '  came  in  chorus 
from  two  pairs  of  healthy  lungs.  What  is  it  ?  Hurry  up, 
delays  are  dangerous — suspense,  death.' 

"  'Gently,  gentlemen;  gentle  subjects  should  be  ap- 
proached with  deference,  and,  indeed,  upon  second 
thoiight,  I  think  it  hardly  decorous  to  litter  a  young 
lady's  name  in  an  atmosphere  reeking  with  tobacco  and 
lemon  and  things,  as  this  is.  I  won't ;  but  shall  simply 
content  myself  with  the  announcement  that  unto  the 
house  of  Mrs.  Major  Wilder  a  guest  is  coming  for  the 


TOM   CARRINGTON'S  CHRISTMAS  GII^T.  5T 

winter,  and  that  guest  is  a  j-oung  lady,  and  that  now  the 
mysterv'  of  the  ' '  spare-room  ' '  is  settled  and  that  to-mor- 
row I,  Thomas  Carrington  of  the  — th  foot,  depart  upon  a 
journey,  "and  further  deponent  saith  not,"'  and  the 
notes  of  the  lullaby  song  in  Erminie  fell  upon  the  air 
once  more,  and  a  wreath  of  smoke  from  the  lips  of  Lieu- 
tenant Carrington  went  curling  toward  the  mantel,  in  an 
inter\'al  of  pause. 

' '  '  And  is  that  all  that  we  are  to  hear  ;  will  your  Lordship 
deign  not  one  other  word  upon  this  momentous  matter,' 
exclaimed  Teddy  Bliss  with  a  tone  of  genuine  exaspera- 
tion. 

The  subject  is  dismissed,  gentlemen  ;  you  may  resume 
your  game,'  remarked  Carrington  with  the  mock  tones  of  a 
commanding  officer ;  and  the  others  knew,  with  all  his 
assumed  mannerism,  that  he  had  his  own  reasons  for  say- 
ing no  more  upon  the  subject  ;  but  Teddy  Bliss  could  not 
resist  the  temptation  of  a  final  word  which  assumed  the 
rather  indefinite  form  of—'  Well,  I'll  be ' 

"  '  Indeed  you  will.  Teddy,'  interrupted  Carrington,  'if 
you  do  not  control  that  unruly  member, '  and  with  the 
expression  of  the  hope  that  his  companions  might  have 
sweet  repose,  happy  dreams,  sweet  tempers  and  patience, 
he  filed  into  the  little  alcove  which  he  designated  his 
'  sleeping  apartment '  and  disappeared  for  the  night. 

"  By  way  of  preparation,  not  only  for  the  expected  vis- 
itor, but  also  for  the  long  months  of  isolation  staring  the 
little  garrison  in  the  face.  Major  Wilder  had  despatched 
an  '  escort  wagon  '  to  the  nearest  town  (some  hundred 
miles  distant)  for  such  articles  of  comfort  and  luxury  as 
the  Inspector  General  had  not  recommended  as  necessary 
or  advisable  among  the  '  stores  which  may  be  sold  for 
cash '  to  officers  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  and  this  wagon  was 
to  call  on  its  return  at  a  certain  ranch  in  the  Judith  Basin 
3* 


58  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS   DINNER. 

for  such  luggage  as  Miss  Mabel  Stoughton  might  see  fit 
to  turn  over  to  its  driver,  which  latter  part  of  the  pro- 
gramme had  remained  a  matter  '  lacking  announcement' 
until  a  few  moments  before  Lieutenant  Carrington's 
abrupt  entrance  into  the  society  of  the  Doctor  and  Lieu- 
tenant Bliss,  and  the  subsequent  interchange  of  the 
amenities  of  social  converse  cited  above. 

"  On  this  particular  evening,  with  some  degree  of  men- 
tal speculation  as  to  the  nature  of  Mrs.  Wilder' s  '  matter 
of  importance '  concerning  which  she  wished  to  see  Lieu- 
tenant Carrington,  that  young  gentleman  had  hastened 
to  her  quarters,  and  had  received  so  much  of  the  informa- 
tion regarding  the  matter  at  issue  as  has  been  already 
imparted  to  the  reader — and  more.  Partially  in  fulfill- 
ment, Mrs.  Wilder  explained,  of  a  long-standing  engage- 
ment with  her  Boston  friend  and  schoolmate.  Miss 
Edith  Barnes,  whose  father  was  trying  the  experiment  of 
a  *  Sheep  Ranch '  in  the  Judith  Basin,  in  the  hope  ot 
regaining  some  of  the  health  which  the  east-wind  ot 
Boston  had  seriously  impaired,  and  partly  that  she  might 
be  within  hailing  distance,  as  it  were,  of  his  half-sister, 
Mrs.  Wilder,  when  that  lady  should  be  ready  to  receive 
her,  Miss  Stoughton  had  been  only  a  day's  ride  from  them 
for  several  weeks,  and  the  appointed  time  of  her  visit  to 
the  post  had  arrived.  The  Major  had  intended  riding 
over  for  her  himself,  but  he  was  suffering  so  much  with 
his  old  enemy,  the  gout,  that  he  found  it  impossible  to  go 
and,  would  not  Lieiitenant  Carrington  come  to  the  rescue  ? 
She  knew  she  could  trust  Mabel  to  him,  knowing  that 
he  would  take  the  best  of  care  of  her.  He  could  go  over 
on  the  following  day  and  return  the  next,  staying  the 
intervening  night  at  the  ranch.  Of  Miss  Mabel  Stough- 
ton's  relationship  to  Mrs.  Major  Wilder  the  young  man 
had  been  profoundly  ignorant  till  that  very  moment     In 


TOM   CARRINGTON'S   CHRISTMAS   GIFT.  59 

the  one  year  and  a  half  he  had  been  away  from  the 
'  academy,'  his  mind  had  often  reverted  to  that  five  min- 
utes at  the  hop-room  door,  and  always  with  a  certain 
thrill  of  pleasure  which  he  could  not  understand.  He 
had  never,  that  he  remembered,  met  any  one  quite  so  fair 
as  she  had  seemed  to  him  during  the  shortness  of  his 
inter\'iew — '  the  rose  lip's  witching  glow  '  upon  the  cheek, 
her  golden  hair,  the  tone  of  her  low  and  musical  voice, 
he  had  often  thought  of  them  ;  but  he  had  never  thought 
to  meet  her  again.  There  had  been  no  ■  bliss  at  meeting, 
no  parting  pain.'  She  had  heen  but  a  fair  figure  upon 
the  fair  earth,  as  it  passed  by  his  point  of  view,  so  that 
Mrs.  Wilder' s  request  somewhat  staggered  him. 

"  '  I  am  always  at  your  service,  Mrs.  Wilder, '  he  re- 
plied, '  and  shall  be  most  happy,  if  you  think  the  young 
lady  will  not  fear  to  venture — what  did  you  say  was 
the  name  ? '  and  as  he  heard  it  repeated  he  looked  as 
though  it  had  never  dwelt  pleasantly  upon  his  ear  before, 
and  felt  as  though  that  kind  destiny,  which  shapes  our 
ends,  overshadowed  him. 

"As  Carrington  approached  the  ranch  the  following 
afternoon  the  tones  of  a  piano  smote  upon  his  ear  in  ac- 
companiment to  two  voices,  which  came  to  him 

'  Like  the  sweet  South 
That  breathes  upon  a  bank  of  violets  ; ' 

so  he  paused  and  listened  till  the  music  ceased,  and,  look- 
ing far  off  toward  the  distant  hills,  over  the  stretches  of 
lonely  prairie,  into  the  unfathomable  depths  of  trackless 
grass-land  innocent  of  human  habitation,  thought  how 
little  it  took  to  give  the  semblance  of  beauty  to  the  world's 
waste  places.  But  if  his  surprise  were  great,  it  was  not 
more  so  than  that  of  the  two  young  ladies  who,  hearing  the 
sound  of  wheels,  turned  to  look  upon  the  tall,  handsome 


60  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

young  officer  who  was  reining  in  at  the  door  and  who  a 
moment  later  presented  his  credentials  in  form  of  a  letter 
from  Mrs.  Wilder.  There  was  no  instant  recognition  on 
Miss  Mabel's  part  of  her  former  unwilling  captive.  His 
appearance  seemed  to  feebly  awaken  some  memory,  but 
nothing  very  tangible  ;  not  till  the  drift  of  conversation 
led  back  to  the  '  Point '  and  individual  experience  there, 
did  it  dawn  upon  her  that  in  her  coming  escort  she  beheld 
the  '  member  in  good  standing  '  of  the  '  Bachelor  Club.' 

"  '  It  was  very  good  of  you,  Mr.  Carrington,  to  so  far 
subdue  your  principles  as  to  consent  to  an  eight-hour 
drive  with  a  young  lady  to  whom  you  once  begrudged 
five  minutes, '  remarked  Miss  Mabel  as  that  evening  they 
were  speaking  of  the  morrow's  ride. 

"  '  I  think  my  principles  only  awaked,  where  your  sex 
is  concerned,  after  graduation,  Miss  Stoughton.  I  hadn't 
quite  formed  any  before  ;  I  was  rather  afraid  of  the  sub- 
ject, you  see,'  replied  Carrington.  '  Really,  though,  I  hope 
to  atone  for  any  past  sins  of  omission  bj'  religious  devo- 
tion to  your  sex  in  the  future.  Pray  accept  yourself  my 
first  cry  of  surrender. ' 

"  '  It  will  be  hard  upon  you,  I  know,  but  I  will  promise 
to  be  very  generous  and  help  you  through  the  ordeal,' 
said  Mabel ;  '  but  tell  me,  Mr.  Carrington,  did  you  ever 
forgive  me  for  entrapping  you  that  night  ?  ' 

"  'I  think  the  drum  was  all  that  saved  me  from  ab- 
solute capitulation — there  is  a  note  of  forgiveness  in  that 
confession,  is  there  not  ?  '  answered  Carrington. 

"  As  they  were  talking,  the  rumble  of  wheels  heralded 
the  approach  of  the  wagon,  and  as  the  start  was  to  be  an 
early  one,  the  young  lady's  trunks  were  loaded  that  night, 
and  the  next  morning,  before  the  sun  had  climbed  one- 
third  the  way  to  the  zenith,  Carrington  and  his  fair  charge 
were  bowling  along  toward  the  Judith  River. 


TOM   CARRINGTON'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  61 

"  It  was  Sunday  morning  and  there  was  a  Sabbath  tone 
in  the  air,  and  Carrington  stole  a  glance  at  the  lovely  girl 
beside  him  ;  he  did  not  wonder  that  it  '  seemed  no  task 
for  the  sun  to  shine  upon  so  fair  a  picture.'  Altogether  the 
young  gentleman's  state  was  a  happy  one,  and  he  men- 
tally evoked  a  blessing  upon  the  Major  for  his  opportune 
attack  of  gout,  upon  Mrs.  Wilder,  first,  for  having  so 
sweet  a  sister,  and  again  for  her  part  in  his  assignment  to 
the  pleasant  duty  before  him— blessed  that  strange  fate, 
in  fine,  which  had  laid  his  lines  in  such  pleasant  places. 
But  a  single  little  cloud  drifted  across  the  sky  of  his  con- 
tent, which  assumed  the  features  of  that  arch-tormentor, 
Mr.  Teddy  Bliss.  He  could  hear  in  anticipation  that  young 
man's  congratulations  upon  his  success  in  having 
achieved  a  triumph  over  his  well-known  diffidence  ;  he 
could  hear  the  pointed  shafts  which  should  inquire  as  to 
the  probable  duration  of  his  willingness  to  associate  with 
ordinary  humanity,  and  whether  he  (Teddy)  would  be 
expected  to  indulge  a  new  suit  in  view  of  the  coming 
event ;  he  knew  he  would  stop  at  nothing,  and  he  was 
very  fond  of  Teddy,  but—'  well,  if  he  does  I  shall  simply 
choke  him,  and  that's  all  about  it,'  was  his  mental  re- 
solve. 

"  'What  did  you  say,  Mr.  Carrington?'  inquired  Miss 
Mabel,  rather  astonished  at  the  unexpectedness  of  this 
last  part  of  Tom's  unwittingly-outspoken  resolve  ;  '  whom 
do  you  wish  to  choke  ;  not  me,  I  trust  ! ' 

'"I  beg  pardon,'  pleaded  Carrington  ;  '  I  was  thinking 
of ' 

"'Never  mind  his  name,'  interrupted  Mabel,  'but 
please  retain  your  faculties  in  this  immediate  vicinity  ; 
that  off-horse  of  yours  will  need  all  the  attention  which  I 
can  afford  to  dispense  with  myself.' 

"  '  Oh,  he's  all  right ;  he  has  only  caught  the  infection 


62  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

of  happiness  from  his  master  ;  besides,  he  is  proud  of  his 
burden  to-da}'.' 

"  And  at  that  moment  a  '  coyote  '  slunk  across  the  road, 
and  his  horse,  not  liking  the  skulking  brute's  appearance, 
made  a  dash  for  freedom,  and  for  a  couple  of  hundred 
yards  Carrington  had  his  hands  full ;  but  he  presently 
quieted  them  down,  and,  looking  at  Mabel,  who  had  be- 
haved admirably,  remarked  :  '  Splendid,  Miss  Stoughton  ; 
you're  a  trump  ! ' 

"  'Thank  you,'  said'Mabel,  who  was  pale  as  death,  but 
could  not  resist  the  interrogatory  :  '  Of  what  suit,  Mr. 
Carrington  ? ' 

"  '  Hearts,  of  course  ;  but  here's  the  river  ; '  and  Car- 
rington noticed  that  under  the  influence  of  the  '  Chin- 
ook,' which  had  come  up  in  the  night,  it  had  risen,  and 
he  concluded  to  see  the  wagon  over  safely  before  crossing 
himself. 

"  looking  at  his  watch,  he  found  it  just  high  noon, 
and  a  few  moments  later  the  wagon  came  rumbling  down 
the  hill  behind  them,  and,  at  a  sign  from  him,  dashed 
into  the  stream,  struck  boldly  across,  and,  when  nearly 
at  the  other  bank,  stalled.  There  was  a  led  horse  behind 
the  wagon,  and  he,  taking  advantage  of  the  situation, 
proceeded  to  drink  ;  but  scarcely  had  his  lips  touched  the 
water  when  there  came  from  up  the  river  a  sound  as  of  a 
dozen  cannons,  and  a  moment  later  huge  blocks  of  ice, 
impelled  with  terrific  speed,  bore  down  upon  the  stalled 
wagon.  Faster  and  faster  came  the  ice  ;  higher  and 
higher  it  piled  against  the  wagon's  side,  which  now 
listed  down  stream.  A  moment  more  and  animals  and 
vehicle  would  be  swept  away  in  the  irresistible  flow. 
'  Cut  the  traces  and  save  the  animals  and  yourself,' 
shouted  Carrington,  which,  with  the  assistance  of  a  man 
to  whom  he  had  given  a  '  lift, '  the  driver  was  able  to  do, 


TOM   CARRINGTON'S   CHRISTMAS   GIFT.  63 

and  an  instant  later  down  the  seething,  on-rushing,  pitiless 
flood,  wagon  and  led-horse — first  one  on  top,  then  the 
other — disappeared  round  a  cun-e,  five  hundred  feet  be- 
low. Carrington's  first  thought  was  of  Mabel's  trunks, 
and  they  found  expression  : 

"  '  My  God  !  Miss  Stoughtou,  your  trunks,  your 
trunks  ! ' 

"  '  I  was  thinking  of  that  poor  horse, '  she  said  ;  '  if 
only  you  can  save  him  !  His  look  of  dumb  despair  will 
haunt  me  forever.' 

"'That's  the  gentlewoman  of  it,'  said  Carrington. 
'  Wait  here  till  I  run  down  the  bank,  the  wagon  may  have 
lodged,'  and  true  enough,  hurled  by  the  force  of  the 
water  in  a  head  of  the  stream,  it  had  been  thrown  upon  a 
sand-bar  high  and  dr>%  or  nearly  so,  and  in  the  midst,  with 
a  look  of  patient  inquiry  upon  his  face,  stood  the  led-horse, 
intact.  To  cross  themselves  was  impossible,  and  theil 
wagon  was  ruined,  the  hind  wheels  gone  and  it  a  wreck. 

Mr.  Carrington's  trying  situation  had  hitherto  been  the 
result  of  a  sympathetic  relationship  with  the  heroes  of 
those  sensational  works  which  had  chanced  to  come  to 
his  notice  ;  the  last  few  moments  had  assigned  to  himself 
the  principal  part  in  what  seemed  to  him  a  most  tragic 
one.  Retreat  was  impossible,  for  behind  him  every 
'  coulee '  by  this  time  was  a  torrent  itself ;  he  felt  himself 
impelled  to  quick  and  decisive  action. 

"  '  Miss  Stoughton,'  he  said  ;  '  our  position  is  one  of 
the  most  extreme  embarrassment ;  we  can  neither  go  back 
or  forward.  I  shall  send  one  of  these  men  to  the  Post  for 
succor.  Will  you  give  yourself  into  my  keeping,  freely, 
as  my  own  sister  would,  feeling  that  I  will  care  for  you 
as  tenderly.  Your  bed  must  be  upon  the  prairie,  but  with 
the  wraps  and  robe  in  the  buggy  I  can  at  least  shelter 
you  from  cold, ' 


64  THE  COLONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

"  Mabel  Stoughton  had  as  stout  a  heart  as  ever  beat 
within  a  woman's  breast,  but  certainly  it  was  put  now  to 
a  crucial  test.  She  had  lost  everything  and  now  found 
herself,  at  the  approach  of  night,  alone  upon  the  broad 
prairie  with  a  man  whom  she  had  known  for  five  min- 
utes only,  before  he  had  come,  the  night  previous,  to  take 
her  for  an  eight  hours'  ride  through  an  almost  uninhab- 
ited country,  but  that  man  wore  the  cloth  which  pro- 
claimed to  her  the  gentleman  in  every  man  who  donned 
it  and  she  never  faltered.  She  saw  Carrington's  distress 
and  pitied  him.  Putting  her  little  hand  in  his,  she  looked 
up  to  him  with  eyes  all  full  of  pity  and  of  trust,  and 
simply  said  :  '  Fate  has  overtaken  us,  my  friend  ;  we  will 
brave  it  out  together.' 

"  '  God  bless  you  ! '  he  answered  ;  '  you  have  given  me 
the  fairest  glimpse  of  womanhood  I  have  ever  known.' 

"  It  was  long  after  midnight — the  moon  had  been  look- 
ing calmly  down,  shedding  a  dower  of  light  upon  the 
earth  and  silveriiig  the  surface  of  the  rushing  water. 
Scarcely  a  breath  of  air  was  stirring,  but  it  was  growing 
colder.  High  up  above  the  tree-tops,  over  in  the  west,  a 
few  clouds  came  drifting  lazily  along — occasionally  a 
moan  came  from  the  distant  hillside — the  bark  of  a  dog, 
distant,  indistinct,  from  somewhere  beyond  the  river,  fell 
upon  the  watcher's  ears,  sharp,  insistent — an  owl's  un- 
friendly hoot  sounded  in  hollow  mocker}' — the  shadows 
which  the  moon  had  painted  lengthened  out  into  the 
plain,  shifting  slowly  and  in  grotesque  shapes — the  weird 
impressions  of  the  night  filled  all  of  Nature's  spaces. 
Carrington  was  looking  with  some  dread  at  the  drifting 
clouds,  knowing  that  in  every  one  of  them  was  '  some 
story  of  storm  to  come  or  past, '  and  he  praj^ed  that  God 
would  temper  the  wind  to  his  precious  charge.  Just  then 
a  coyote  barked  and  Mabel  awoke. 


TOM   CARRINGTON'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  65 

"  'Were  you  pra\'ing,  Mr.  Carrington  ? '  she  asked. 

"'Execrating  that  coyote  for  having  disturbed  you 
Miss  Stoughtou.' 

' '  '  No,  sir  !  you  were  praying,  and  I  waked  up  to  say 
Amen  !  good-night,'  she  said. 

'  'And the  stillness  was  unbroken 
And  the  silence  gave  no  token,' 

till  by  and  by  a  faint  flush  crept  over  the  eastern  hills 
and  brought  across  the  '  threshold  of  the  skies '  the 
blessedness  of  dawn. 

' '  An  inspection  of  the  river  discovered  the  feasibility 
of  crossing ;  the  waters  which  the  day  before  had  burst 
through  the  the  ice-dam,  carrying  ruin  in  their  path,  had 
passed  by,  leaving  a  wreck  to  tell  the  story  of  their  fury 
— now  the  stream  flowed  musically  on  and  nothing  barred 
the  way  to  progress.  The  ominous  clouds  which  had  so 
disturbed  Carrington  during  the  night  had  dissolved,  the 
canopy  of  heaven  was  one  unbroken  field  of  blue  and,  as 
the  pink  of  dawn  brightened  into  the  golden  glory  of  day, 
the  travelers  left  the  river  behind  them  and  headed  fqr 
the  distant  hills.  Midway  between  the  scene  of  their 
mishap  and  the  post  they  met  the  relief  party,  which  they 
sent  to  gather  up  what  they  could  from  the  wreck  and, 
a  couple  of  hours  later,  Carrington  deposited  his  charge 
at  the  door  of  the  Major's  hut  and  in  the  arms  of  her 
anxious  sister.  Leaving  her,  Carrington  said,  '  You  will 
understand,  if  I  do  not  call  this  evening?'  and  for  a 
moment  Mabel  did  not  understand,  but  an  instant  later 
she  appreciated  his  thoughtful  kindness  and  thanked  him 
in  her  heart. 

' '  Of  course,  speculation  as  to  the  non-appearance  of  the 
travelers  was  rife  throughout  the  little  settlement  the 
night  before  ;  the  Major's  gout,  owing  to  his  excited  state 


66  THE  COLONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

of  mind,  gave  him  an  added  twinge,  which  in  u.o  way- 
tended  to  temper  his  irascibility.  Mrs.  Wilder,  kind 
and  gentle  woman  that  she  was,  felt  that  some  good  rea- 
son had  detained  them  ;  but  Mrs.  McFarlane,  whose  forty- 
five  years  of  '  following  the  drum '  had  been  innocent  of 
any'  known  expression  of  charitable  thought  for  any 
human  being,  shook  her  head  ominously,  till  the  httle 
curls  at  the  back  of  her  neck  danced  like  puppets  upon 
the  expanding  field  of  her  fair  shoulders.  To  her  Lieut. 
Teddy  Bliss  felt  himself  constrained,  in  defence  of  his 
friend,  to  remark  that  he  had  known  Miss  Stoughton  for 
some  time,  and  Lieut.  Carrington  for  years — that  both 
belonged  to  that  category  of  gentility  to  whom  a  com- 
promising situation  was  impossible,  and  that  he  regretted 
the  enforced  conviction  that  there  were  some  people,  who 
did  not,  with  which  satisfying  shot  he  left  the  object 
of  his  remarks  to  pursue  undisturbed  her  communing 
with  the  stars,  and  passed  on  and  into  the  seclusion  of  his 
own  domain.  Mabel,  as  was  to  be  expected,  took  the 
garrison  by  storm  ;  her  beauty,  the  gracious  and  gentle 
manner  which  she  had  for  all,  from  the  Major  down  to 
the  striker,  won  her  only  friends,  and  under  the  modify- 
ing influences  which  she  exerted,  even  Teddy  Bliss 
dropped  his  cynicism  and  became  a  wonder  of  metamor- 
phosis. 

"  The  last  month  of  the  year  had  come  and  the  storm 
kings  were  gathering  their  forces  ;  the  little  garrison  gave 
over  its  excursions  to  distant  points,  in  deference  to  the 
ominous  mutterings  of  winter.  Cards  and  cosy  little  sup- 
pers, rambles  over  the  neighboring  hills,  and  occasional 
forays  upon  the  Ranch,  down  the  valley,  filled  up  the 
spaces  of  their  time.  Carrington  had  no  occasion  to 
'choke'  Teddy  Bliss;  that  young  gentleman's  views 
of  life  unden^'ent  perceptible  modification,  and  few  were 


TOM   CARRINGTON'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  67 

the  days  when,  at  one  hour  or  another,  he  did  not  saunter 
over  to  the  Major's  '  for  the  bracer  the  sight  of  that  splen- 
did girl  gives  one,  you  know,'  as  he  said  to  the  Doctor. 
Carrington's  position  toward  the  young  lady  he  defined 
more  accurately  himself  than  others  who  had  busied 
themselves  in  the  matter.  He  had  become  ver>'  fond  of 
Mabel,  of  course,  as  had  everybody,  but  he  had  said  no 
word  of  love  to  her  ;  he  did  not  flatter  himself  that  she 
would  be  inclined  to  listen  if  he  did  ;  the  accident  that 
had  thrown  them  together,  under  circumstances  out  of 
common,  had  no  bearing,  to  his  mind,  upon  the  case  at 
all— in  fact,  it  would  have  rather  had  the  efiect  of  retard- 
ing any  declaration,  had  he  thought  of  making  one. 
Once  or  twice,  of  a  night,  when  he  and  Teddy  and  the 
Doctor  were  sitting  round  the  blazing  logs,  within  the  en- 
closure of  their  own  four  walls,  and,  tired  of  talk,  had 
settled  themselves,  with  their  pipes,  for  a  little  self-com- 
muning, before  bidding  each  other  and  the  world  good- 
night, his  fancy  had  wrought  out  of  the  glowing  coals 
pictures  fair  to  look  upon,  and  from  out  the  picture  look- 
ing up  at  him  were  eyes  of  heaven's  own  blue,  and  within 
his  own,  a  little  hand,  soft  and  warm,  lay  passively,  with 
now  and  then  a  gentle  pressure  responsive  to  a  heart- 
beat, and  as  the  ashes  settled  white  and  thick  upon  the 
embers,  and  the  fading  light  had  its  suggestion  of  clouds 
drifting  across  his  sky  (the  shadows  of  earthly  trouble), 
the  pressure  of  the  hand  grew  stronger,  and  from  out  the 
gloom  a  soft,  sweet  voice  seemed  to  come  laden  with  the 
tones  of  comfort  and  the  accents  of  hope,  and,  yielding  to 
the  soothing  influences  of  the  hour,  and  of  his  fancy,  he 
would  close  his  eyes  and  let  this  '  dream  of  delicate  beauty 
melt  into  his  heart's  recess.' 

The  Christmas  season  was  fast  approaching,  and  ever- 
greens and  rose-berries  and  such  pretty  grasses  as  reared 


G8  THE   colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

their  nodding  tassels  above  the  snow  were  brought  into 
requisition  wherewith  to  bedeck  their  humble  dwellings, 
and  on  Christmas  eve  there  had  been  a  supper  party  and 
some  singing  at  the  Major's,  and  Teddy  had  announced 
that  he  proposed  to  hang  up  his  stocking  and  thought, 
considering  his  youth,  that  Carrington  should  do  the 
same,  and  the  ladies  had  all  agreed  that  if  they  did  they 
should  find  them  filled  in  the  morning,  and  Carrington 
had  asked  '  Mabel '  what  he  might  expect  from  her,  and 
she  had  told  him  that  really  she  did  not  know  ;  that,  after 
Mr.  Bliss'  remark,  she  should  have  to  think  of  something 
suited  to  his  years,  at  whic^  Mrs.  Wilder  spoke  up  and 
said:  'Don't  worry,  Mr.  Carrington;  I  might  tell  you 
more  about  that  myself  than  I  shall ;  wait  and  see.'  And 
as  the  little  clock  upon  the  mantel  chimed  out  the  mid- 
night hour  a  very  fair  chorus  of  voices  sang  a  Christmas 
hymn  and  so  they  parted.  For  several  days  a  large  body 
of  Indians  had  been  camped  some  three  or  four  miles  be- 
low the  park,  a  few  of  whom  had  been  in  to  exchange  a 
friendly  greeting,  and  a  night  or  tAVO  previous  two  or 
three  of  them,  having  obtained  some  liquor,  became  trou- 
blesome and,  indeed,  had  fired  upon  the  guard  in  their 
effort  to  expel  them,  but  nobody  had  been  hurt  and  the 
Major  had  let  it  go,  thinking  it  only  a  drunken,  crazy 
freak  which  would  not  be  repeated.  Christmas  Day 
dawned  bright  and  beautiful,  and  many  of  the  men  had 
early  set  off  to  hunt  in  the  mountains,  leaving  but  a  very 
small  number  to  guard  the  Post.  There  had  been  some 
talk  of  a  sleigh-ride  in  the  afternoon  down  to  the  Ranch, 
but  an  incident  occurred  which  changed  the  plans  of  all 
concerned  and  brought  the  speculations  of  Mrs.  O'Keefe 
and  some  others  to  an  end. 

"Toward  the  middle  of  the  morning  there  appeared 
down  the  valley,    far  as  the   eye  could  reach,    a   long, 


TOM   CARRINGTON'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  69 

black  moving  line  winding  in  and  out  through  the  curv- 
ings  of  the  road  and  becoming  gradually  more  distinct. 
Carrington  was  standing  with  Mabel  near  the  Major's 
door  admiring  the  wintr>'  picture  outspread  before  them, 
and  she  had  just  told  him  that  for  his  audacity  the  night 
before  in  asking  for  it,  she  should  not  give  him  the  pres- 
ent she  had  intended,  and  he  had  begged  to  be  placed  on 
probation  till  the  New  Year,  when  their  eyes  chanced  to 
rest  upon  this  long,  dark,  moving  mass,  filing  into  the 
plain  below  them  and  form  into  line,  then  move  slowly 
for\vard.  There  were  some  two  hundred  warriors,  splen- 
didly mounted — equipped  for  battle— the  sunlight  flash- 
ing froni  their  rifle-barrels,  their  gaudy  feathers  tossing 
in  the  wind.  Steadily  they  moved  forward,  chanting  a 
wild,  weird  song,  while  before  them  one  warrior  rode  from 
right  to  left  and  left  to  right  in  wild  careering,  flourishing 
a  scalp-lock  upon  a  pole  and  evidently  leading  in  the  song. 
One  by  one  they  saw  the  men  slip  quickly  within  their 
quarters  and  then  reappear.  It  was  a  new  sight  to  Car- 
rington. It  might  mean  nothing — it  might  mean  much. 
To  Mabel  it  meant  everything.  But  the  one  idea  had 
fastened  upon  her  brain.  It  was  to  be  but  the  repetition 
of  Fetterman  and  the  Little  Big  Horn,  and  as  Carrington 
turned  to  go,  saying  he  would  find  out  what  it  was  and 
come  soon  to  tell  her,  and  noticed  the  look  of  terror  upon 
her  face,  he  knew  that  her  fears  were  not  for  herself  alone. 
Looking  again  at  the  line  he  saw  it  halted,  and  the  leader 
in  parley  with  the  officer  of  the  day. 

"  'See,  Mabel,'  he  said  ;  'it  is  nothing— only  a  Christ- 
mas visit ;  but  may  not  I  have  this  for  my  Christmas  gift  ?' 
And  he  stooped  and  kissed  her,  and  Mrs.  Wilder  from 
her  point  of  vantage  at  the  window  saw,  and  mutely  sent 
them  her  blessing." 

"It's  the  Quartermaster's  turn,"  suggested  Miss  Dot 


70  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

at  this  moment,  while  people  were  glancing  about  the 
table  as  though  in  search  of  the  next  victim. 

' '  Yes,  of  course, ' '  loudly  seconded  Mr.  Briggs.  ' '  Come, 
Vouchers,  something's  got  to  be  done  to  redeem  the  Staff 
since  X.'s  fizzle." 

The  Colonel  laughed  as  he  turned  to  his  junior  staff 
officer.  "  Never  you  mind  what  Briggs  says,  Mr.  Quar- 
termaster.    The  staff  can  take  care  of  itself. ' ' 

"That's  precisely  the  trouble,  Colonel,"  shouted  the 
irrepressible  Briggs.  ' '  What  we  would  like  is  that  the 
staff  should  occasionally  take  care  of  somebody  else." 
Whereat  there  was  a  burst  of  laughter.  The  line  is  ever 
ready  to  applaud  a  hit  at  the  staff.  But  the  Quartermas- 
ter only  grinned — and  began  : 


THE  QUARTERMASTER'S   STORY. 

"  Shortly  before  the  55th  Cavalry  was  ordered  to  Ari- 
zona, Captain  Sabres  had  quite  an  acquisition  to  his  troop 
in  the  person  of  his  second  lieutenant  ;  and  as  he  occupies 
a  somewhat  prominent  position  in  this  narrative,  a  brief 
description  seems  almost  unavoidalile. 

"  Imagine  '  Granville  de  Vigne,'  '  Sabretasche,'  '  Curly,' 
or  any  other  beau  sabreur  who  is  '  Ouida's  '  conception  of 
a  cavalryman  ;  then  divest  him  of  his  paraphernalia  and 
habiliments,  place  to  his  credit  the  moderate  bank  account 
of  the  average  second  lieutenant,  allow  him  quarters  and 
emoluments  in  accordance  with  his  rank,  and  you  will 
have  a  fair  idea  of  Lieutenant  Evan  Tavistock. 

"  He  was  of  that  same  immaculate  order  of  being  as 
those  sybarites  whom  I  cite,  and  fancied  his  environment 
in  every  way  similar  to  theirs.  One  meeting  him  and 
conversing  on  such  topics  as  his  antique  bronzes,  his  old 


THE  quartermaster's  STORY.  7l 

master  paintings,  his  rare  china,  his  thoroughbreds  and 
his  traps,  would  scarcely  believe  that  his  sleeping  apart- 
ment was  carpetless  and  his  ivory  bedstead  a  common 
hospital  cot.  But  such  was  really  the  case  ;  and  his  ex- 
aggerated style  and  absurd  pretention  soon  made  him  the 
laughing  stock  of  the  regiment. 

' '  Nevertheless  he  was  so  thoroughly  good-hearted  and 
unselfish,  bore  chaffing  so  well,  and  was  all  in  all  such  a 
divine,  undisguised  ass  that  none  could  truthfully  say 
they  disliked  him. 

' '  Mr.  Tavistock  had  been  in  Arizona  about  one  month 
when  he  was  ordered  out  in  pursuit  of  deserters.  He 
reached  Fort  Burns — forty  miles  distant— and  there  tar- 
ried ;  sending  the  sergeant  on  after  the  fugitives,  because 
it  was  such  a  '  blawsted  bore '  to  go  himself.  When  he 
learned  that  there  were  three  brides  and  several  young 
women  at  Burns,  he  felt  greatly  annoyed  that  he  had  not 
fetched  a  few  of  his  trunks.  To  be  sure  he  had  his  top- 
boots  with  their  silver  screw  spurs,  and  his  visorless  cap 
upon  his  person  ;  but  his  wardrobe  consisted  of  his  cordu- 
roy breeches  and  a  jacket  with  huge  orange  plush 
shoulder-straps.  He  felt  in  a  measure  relieved  when  he 
perceived  that  his  attire  was  entirely  unlike  that  of  the 
other  officers  ;  it  implied^distinction,  he  thought.  At  the 
same  time  he  could  not  fancy  it  the  correct  thing  in  con- 
nection with  brides,  young  women  and  dinner  parties. 
He  liked  the  garrison  immensely  ;  and  there  he  enjo^-ed 
himself  during  the  week  that  his  .sergeant  was  taking  in 
Tucson's  places  of  amusement  in  quest  of  the  missing 
troopers. 

"Though  it  did  not  take  the  veterans  at  Burns  long  to 
diagnose  Mr.  Tavistock's  case,  yet  by  the  ladies  he  was 
pronounced  perfectly  charming.  In  describing  to  them 
his  surroundings  at  Fort  Davenport,  he  had  used  '  de 


72         Till-:  colonel's  Christmas  dinner. 

Vigne's  '  own  words  ;  and  it  was  not  easy  for  these  credu- 
lous ones  to  believe  it  was  all  fancy  or  deception.  In 
taking  leave  of  them,  he  invited  all  to  eat  their  Christmas 
dinner  with  him  at  Davenport,  promising  them  wild 
turkeys  and  other  good  things.  He  even  went  so  far  as 
to  tell  the  belle  of  the  garrison  that  if  she  would  agree 
to  come,  he  would  run  over  for  her  and  '  tool  her  down  in 
his  tilbury  ! ' 

"  Not  long  after  his  return  to  Davenport  Lieutenant 
De  Canter  had  occasion  to  visit  Burns  on  official  business. 
While  there  he  naturally  heard  much  of  Tavistock,  and 
learned  many  details  respecting  the  young  man's  visit. 
He  was  not  surprised  to  hear  of  the  glowing  account 
Tavistock  had  given  of  Davenport — of  his  quarters,  his 
horses  and  his  traps — for  that  was  the  creature's  way. 
But  he  really  was  amazed  when  he  learned  of  the  general 
invitation  to  dine  with  him,  which  several  of  the  fair  ones 
were  anxious  to  accept.  One  of  them,  in  fact,  came  to 
De  Canter  and  begged  him  to  use  his  influence  with  Mrs. 
Trolls  to  persuade  her  to  chaperon  them. 

' '  De  Canter  reflected  that  it  might  be  a  capital  scheme 
to  let  the  ladies  go  over,  anticipating  a  royal  dinner  with 
Tavistock,  he  not  to  know  of  their  advent  until  too  late 
to  provide  for  them.  This  would  naturally  mortify  him, 
and  might  result  in  curing  him  of  his  absurd  conceit. 
De  Canter  had  little  difficulty  in  persuading  Mrs.  Trolls 
to  go,  and  he  advised  the  beauty  not  to  wait  for  Mr. 
Tavistock  and  his  '  tilbury,'  but  to  come  in  the  regula- 
tion army  landau,  with  its  mule  motive-power. 

' '  De  Canter  chuckled  to  himself  as  he  mused  on  his 
diplomacy,  and  the  huge  joke  he  had  put  up  on  Tavis- 
tock. But  it  might  have  been  more  huge,  had  it  not  been 
of  that  common  brand — '  too  good  to  keep.'  He  felt  that 
he  must  have  some  one  to  enjoy  it  with  him  ;  so  before 


THE  quartermaster's  STORY.  73 

he  had  been  back  at  Davenport  half  an  hour  he  had  let 
two  others  into  the  secret.  These  regarded  it  precisely 
as  he  had,  so  they  followed  his  example  and  told  others  ; 
consequently  the  whole  garrison,  Tavistock  included, 
knew  of  the  entire  plan  a  whole  week  before  Christmas. 

' '  When  it  was  learned  that  Tavistock  w^as  well  in- 
formed on  the  subject,  general  regret  was  expressed.  De 
Canter  tried  to  defend  his  loquacity  by  sa^-ing  it  would  be 
an  utter  impossibility  for  the  fellow  to  give  a  decent  dinner 
any  way  ;  and,  as  the  invited  guests  were  surely  coming, 
the  awkwardness  of  Tavistock's  position  would  be  just 
as  great. 

^'  From  this  date  poor  Tavistock  was  made  the  target 
for  no  end  of  chaff.  The  fellows  went  for  him  unmerci- 
fully, asking  him  if  the  dinner  was  to  be  '  a  la  Russe '  or 
'  How  ? '  If  the  turkey  was  to  be  stuffed  with  his  old 
puns  in  lieu  of  chestnuts,  and  if  he  expected  to  catch  his 
menu  card  in  the  draw.  These  and  similar  asininities, 
well  calculated  to  annoy  and  exasperate,  had  no  effect 
whatsoever  upon  Tavistock.  In  fact  he  accepted  all  their 
chaff  pleasantly,  and  in  the  most  approved  Hyde  Park 
fashion, 

"There  were  others  in  the  garrison,  however,  w^ho 
were  far  more  exercised  as  day  after  day  passed  and  they 
saw  no  preparation  being  made  for  the  promised  repast  ; 
and  they  wondered  how  Tavistock  expected  to  escape 
from  his  dilemma.  He  apparently  never  gave  the  matter 
a  thought,  but  was  far  from  idle.  When  he  finally  com- 
prehended that  there  was  on  foot  a  preconcerted  scheme 
to  embarrass  and  make  him  appear  ridiculous,  he  at  once 
determined  to  do  the  best  he  could  in  the  way  of  a  dinner. 
And  with  this  resolve  buried  in  his  heart  and  sealed  on 
his  hps,  he  sought  the  post  trader.  From  this  individual 
he,  for  a  modest  stipend,  borrowed  everything  he  could 
4 


74  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

possibly  need  in  the  way  of  china,  glasses,  knives,  forks 
and  spoons.  His  own  trunks  furnished  the  table  linen, 
which  was  of  fine  quality,  having  once  graced  the  table 
of  his  great-grandfather.  With  the  assistance  of  his 
striker,  he  had  already  purloined  from  vacant  quarters 
several  tables — the  property  of  the  government — and 
these,  when  arranged  in  line  and  covered  with  a  hand- 
some cloth,  really  made  a  very  respectable  banquet  board. 
Horseshoe-nails  were  substituted  for  nut-picks,  just  be- 
cause they  smacked  of  the  service  ;  and  having  quietly 
and  satisfactorily  attended  to  these  preliminaries,  he  de- 
tailed a  man  from  his  troop  to  act  as  chef,  and  ordered  the 
great  dinner. 

"  It  was  the  25th  of  December.  Tavistock  regarded  it 
as  a  stroke  of  good  fortune  that  he  was  oificer-of-the-day. 
The  guests,  who  would  shortly  arrive,  were  sufficiently 
conversant  with  arm}-  matters  to  know  that  many  duties 
pertained  to  this  office,  and  would  excuse  his  frequent  ab- 
sences. Time  would  thus  be  given  him,  to  be  used  to  his 
own  advantage,  '  Besides, '  he  reflected  ;  '  I  only  asked 
them  to  dine  ;   not  to  put  up  with  me. ' 

"  In  due  time  two  ambulances  from  Fort  Burns  bowled 
into  the  garrison.  Mrs.  Trolls,  Mrs.  Hinton  and  four 
young  ladies  had  accepted  the  kind  invitation  of  Mr. 
Tavistock  ;  so  had — unasked— Captain  Trolls  and  Mr, 
Newburg.  But  these,  as  well  as  the  entire  party,  were 
assured  by  the  officer-of-the-day  that  he  was  '  chawmed 
no  end '  to  see  them.  Then  they  were  spirited  away  by 
different  inmates  of  the  garrison,  better  situated  to  dis- 
pose of  them,  temporarily,  than  the  would-be  swell  host, 

"  Tavistock  had  announced  the  dinner-hour  as  six 
o'clock  ;  and  as  the  appointed  time  drew  near,  much  spec- 
ulation was  indulged  in,  especially  by  the  inmates  of  the 
garrison,  respecting  Tavistock's  plans.     The  fact  that  he 


THE  quartermaster's  STORY.  75 

had  reall)'  provided  anj-thing  never,  for  one  moment,  en- 
tered their  minds. 

"  At  the  proper  time  the  company  assembled  at  Mr. 
Tavistock's  quarters,  where  he  warmly  received  them. 
He  was  arrayed  as  immaculately  as  permissible  with  the 
office  he  had  that  day  filled  His  quarters  had  been 
tidied  up  a  little  by  McGoon,  his  striker ;  that  was  all. 
There  was  an  absence  of  bric-a-brac,  bijoicicrie,  and  in 
fact  of  all  ornamentation  and  decoration,  which  must 
have  struck  the  visitors  as  peculiar,  when  recalling  the 
previous  description  they  had  received.  But  naturally, 
only  such  remarks  as  :  '  Why,  how  nicely  you  are  fixed  ! ' 
'  How  pleasantly  you  are  situated  !  '  and  other  similar 
flatteries  were  indulged  in. 

' '  Some  little  time  ensued,  and  the  garrison  guests  pres- 
ent were  showing  s^-mptoms  of  impatience,  when  a  neigh- 
boring do(5r  was  thrust  open  and  McGoon,  in  swallow-tail 
coat  and  white  apron,  in  stentorian  tones  shouted  :  '  Cum 
a  runnin'  ! ' 

"  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  words  fell  like  a  blow 
on  the  ear  of  the  elegant  and  refined  host ;  but  the  mirth 
occasioned  by  the  plebeian  announcement  soon  banished 
all  embarrassment,  and,  giving  his  arm  to  Mrs.  Trolls, 
he  passed  into  the  adjoining  room,  followed  by  the  rest  of 
the  company. 

"  Great,  indeed,  was  the  surprise  of  everj'^  one.  There 
stretched  a  long  table,  neatly  covered  with  spotless  linen, 
whose  purity  and  fineness  was  at  once  remarked  upon. 
The  silver  knives  and  forks  shone  brightly  beneath  the 
many  lights,  and  there  was  nothing  to  indicate  that  they 
were  borrowed  or  plated.  The  china  was  a  trifle  superior 
— as  were  also  the  glasses — to  the  average  Arizona  table- 
furniture  ;  and  the  centre-piece,  towering  fi"om  its  mes- 
quite  embankment,  was  abundantly  and  tastefully  filled 


76  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

wilh  fruit  from  the  commissary.  The  whole  scene  was 
really  quite  attractive  and  alluring. 

"  After  a  brief  survey  of  his  surroundings,  Lieutenant 
De  Canter,  who  was  one  of  the  guests,  so  far  recovered 
from  his  amazement  as  to  mentally  articulate  :  'I'll  be 
d ! '  But  hope  had  not  quite  deserted  him  ;  he  re- 
membered the  promised  turke}-,  and  w^ell  knowing  that 
one  had  never  been  seen  in  or  around  Davenport,  felt,  in  a 
measure,  assured.  Others  of  the  garrison  present  were 
also  greatly  astonished  ;  but  the  visitors  accepted  it  all  as 
a  matter  of  course. 

"  McGoon  and  Flynn — a  brother  trooper,  who  was  act- 
ing assistant — brought  in  the  soup,  which  was  pronounced 
faultless.  Then  Flynn  approached  the  host  and  asked  : 
'  Will  the  loot'unt  have  the  lemmin  edd  now?  ' 

"  '  Er — ah:  3-es  ;  a'Ou  howling  idiot ; '  muttered  poor 
Tavistock  ;  and  a  moment  later,  while  the  conipan}-  were 
convulsed  with  laughter,  the  well-disguised  troopers  were 
filling  the  glasses  with  '  lemmin  edd, '  flowing  from  bottles 
whose  labels  were  a  guarantee  of  the  excellence  of  their 
contents. 

' '  All  were  cheerful ;  everything  was  passing  off"  delight- 
fully, and — 5'es,  here  comes  McGoon  with  the  promised 
turkey,  which  he  deftly  places  before  the  composed  host. 

"  '  Oh,  how  lovely  ! '  '  How  awfulh'  nice  in  3^ou  I '  and 
other  similar  expressions  from  the  visitors  greeted  Tavis- 
tock, as  he  recklessly  replied  : 

' '  '  Told  you  I'd  knock  3'ou  one  over,  j'ou  know  ;  thej-'re 
as  thick  as  cweam  awound  here.' 

' '  Then  came  the  vegetables — canned  to  be  sure  ;  but 
who  would  suspect  it,  when  prepared  by  a  troop  chef  and 
ser\'ed  in  McGoon's  recherche  style. 

"  And  here  comes  the  'rum-pudding,'  as  Flynn  called 
it,  '  blazing  fer  al  the  woorled  loike  a  bloomin'  shell  ! ' 


THE   QUARTERMASTER'S  STORY.  77 

"So  far  Tavistock  had  no  reason  to  feel  ashamed  of  his 
spread.  It  is  doubtful  if  another  in  the  garrison  could 
have  done  better.  Many  and  sincere  were  the  congratu- 
lations he  received,  and  one  fair  guest  remarked  to  him 
she  wished  the  officers  at  Burns  were  half  so  nice  and 
thoughtful. 

"  In  addition  to  the  astonishment  which  De  Canter  ex- 
perienced, he  felt  decidedly  cheap  ;  his  supreme  joke  had 
proved  no  joke  at  all.  He  did  not  enjoy  his  dinner  be- 
cause his  skin  did  not  fit  him,  as  he  afterwards  expressed 
it.  He  felt  ill  at  ease,  and,  fancying  a  soup^on  of  cognac 
might  benefit  him,  strolled  back  to  the  dining-room  to 
help  himself;  but  McGoon — and  McGoon  in  tears— an- 
ticipated his  wish. 

"'Why,  what's  the  matter,  McGoon?'  he  asked,  as 
he  tossed  off  the  brandy.  '  Has  anything  gone  WTong 
with  you  ? ' 

"  'There's  not  a  dhrj^  oiej-e  in  the  throope,  loot'unt ; ' 
sobbed  the  old  soldier. 

"'What  do  you  mean?'  asked  the  thoroughly  per- 
plexed subaltern. 

"  '  The  pet's  kilt !  murdurhed  ! '  was  the  reply. 

"  '  What  pet  are  you  talking  about  ? '  inquired  De  Canter. 

"  '  "  F"  throope' s  'agle  to  be  sure,  that  we  brought  al 
the  way  frum  de  Platte  !  He  wus  a  foine  bird,  loot'unt, 
so  he  was!  He'd  licked  "C"  throope' s  goat,  an'  he 
picked  deoieye  outen  "  G  "  cumpany 'starrier  !  An'  now 
he's  murdurhed  ! ' 

"  '  Is  poor  old  ' '  Grant ' '  dead  ? '  asked  De  Canter  ; 
showing  sympathy  for  the  old  veteran,  who  had  worn 
chevrons  before  he  joined  :   '  What  killed  him  ?  ' 

"  '  That  bloomin'  doughboy  lyoot'unt  Thavisstock  paid 
to  massacree  'im  wid  de  sthable  broom,  to  be  sure.  Bad 
luck  to  'im  ! ' 


78  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

"'Why  did  Lieutenant  Tavistock  want  "F"  com- 
pany's eagle  killed? '  asked  the  innocent  and  unsuspect- 
ing officer. 

"  '  To  stuff  de  commissar}'-  baskits  of  them  women  from 
Fort  Burns  !  poor  old  "  Grant  "  !  He  masqueraded,  sor, 
as  a  wild  turkey  an'  they  et  'im,  they  did  !  jist  as  pay 
day's  cuming  an'  we  was  a  goin'  to  pit  'im  wid  "K" 
throopes  crower.  Boo-hoo  !  But  it  was  sport,  loot'unt, 
to  see  the  boys  shling  belting  the  doughbo}-  outen  the 
post !  Be  Gob,  sor,  he  3'elled  loike  a  thayvin'  Arrah- 
payho  ! ' 

"So  Tavistock's  outrageous  deception  was  laid  bare, 
to  De  Canter  at  the  least !  The  old  eagle  which  had 
been  given  by  the  2 2d  Cavalry  in  exchange  for  a  lame 
monke}',  and  for  some  time  had  been  recognized  as  the 
Sullivan  pet  of  the  regiment,  had  been  placed  before  his 
guests,  who  had  devoured  him,  fancying  they  ate  wild 
turkey  shot  by  their  skillful  and  polite  host !  Yes  ;  and 
De  Canter  recollected  that  he  also  had  eaten  of  the  Na- 
tional bird  !  '  Ugh  !  '  he  remembered  now  of  having  de- 
tected a  peculiar  flavor ;  but  had  said  nothing  lest  he 
might  betraj'  his  ignorance  respecting  swell  cooking ! 
And  while  McGoon  drained  in  silence  the  unfinished 
glasses,  the  disgusted  officer  strolled  away  to  reflect  in 
solitude.  But  he  was  met  by  Lieutenant  Curry,  who  gave 
him  information  which  caused  him  still  greater  surprise. 

' '  Curry  told  him  that  in  an  hour  or  so — after  the  guests 
had  thoroughly  digested  their  dinner,  it  was  the  intention 
of  Tavistock — who  fancied  they  were  in  the  scheme  with 
De  Canter — to  make  a  little  speech.  He  would  open  by 
thanking  them  for  coming  ;  he  then  would  apologize  for 
the  deficiency  in  the  dinner  by  stating  that  he  had  re- 
ceived no  knowledge  respecting  their  coming  until  he 
beheld  them  in  the  garrison  ;  that  then  it  was  too  late  to 


THE  quartermaster's  STORY.  79 

capture  the  promised  turkey,  so  he  did  the  next  best 
thing  by  appropriating  a  National  bird,  which,  though 
an  old  pet  in  his  troop,  he  regarded  as  a  fit  subject  to  dis- 
sect on  a  National  holiday,  etc.,  etc 

"  Tavistock  was  certainly  in  a  position  to  crow  ! 

' '  '  The  infernal  scoundrel  ! '  exclaimed  De  Canter, 
realizing  the  extent  of  his  host's  depravity,  and  fully 
conscious  that  a  portion  of  old  '  Grant '  was  sticking  to 
his  ribs  ;  '  why,  it  will  be  a  disgrace  to  the  regiment,  if 
not  to  the  corps  ! '  Then  turning  to  Cuny,  he  said  :  '  I 
can't  thank  you  enough,  old  man,  for  having  told  me 
this  ;  I'll  balk  the  beggar  yet ! ' 

"And  together  they  went  to  Tavistock's  quarters, 
where  the  visitors  and  others  were  pleasantly  conversing. 
A  few  moments  later  De  Canter — who  had  never  addressed 
an  assemblage  since  the  time  he  stood  upon  the  platform 
and  told  his  schoolmates  the  thrilling  storj-  of  the  heroic 
boy  and  the  burning  deck — arose  and  said  : 

"  'Ladies  atid  Gc7itlemen  :  I  am  conscious  that  it  is 
bad  form  to  trumpet  one's  owm  deeds  ;  but  I  feel  it  my 
duty  to  inform  you  of  a  dastardly  plot,  of  which  you  were 
to  be  the  victims  ;  which  was  frustrated  by  my  interfer- 
ence ! ' 

"(The  company  express  gratitude  and  surprise,  and 
Tavistock  pales.) 

"  '  It  appears  that  Mr.  Tavistock  regarded  your  pres- 
ence here  to-day  as  part  of  a  scheme  to  embarrass  him. 
It  is  only  proper  for  me  to  add  that  when  he  invited  you 
to  dine  he  had  no  hope  of  your  coming.  But  he  event- 
ually learned  you  would  be  here,  and  satisfied  that  it  was 
a  trick  to  annoy  him,  and  realizing  his  inability  to  pro- 
vide the  promised  dish,  he  sought  to  turn  the  tables  upon 
you  ! 

"  'Through  the  instrumentality  of  a  wretch,  who  I  am 


80  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

thankful  to  say  is  no  longer  in  the  garrison,  he  had  the 
old  pet  eagle  of  "  F  "  troop  killed  and  placed  before  you 
to  pose  as  his  wild  turkey  ! '  (Cries  of  '  The  monster  ! ' 
'  The  beast ! '  and  various  sounds  which  show  the  paucity 
of  orthography.) 

"  '  Yes,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  it  is  his  belief  at  this 
moment  that  the  bully  of  "  F  "  troop  has  been  devoured 
by  you !  But  when  I  learned  of  his  purpose,  I  quietly 
sent  the  turkey  which  was  to  grace  my  own  modest  board 
over  to  Mr.  Tavistock's  cook  with  instructions  to  prepare 
it  properly  for  you,  and  to  decently  inter  the  dead  cham- 
pion of  "  F  "  troop.  From  this  you  will  perceive  that  it 
was  my  precaution  alone  that  rescued  you  from  a  fate  too 
hideous  to  contemplate. ' 

"It  seems  needless  to  add  that  De  Canter  stock  in- 
stantly rose  in  proportion  to  the  decline  in  Tavistock  ; 
and  though  the  lie  told  by  the  former  was  far  too  dark  to 
be  classed  with  the  '  white  '  ones,  it  completely  foiled  the 
latter,  and  prevented  sudden  and  serious  illness  among 
the  visitors. ' ' 

"  It  is  time  we  heard  from  one  of  our  guests,"  said  the 
Colonel ;  "local  talent  isn't  exhausted,  but  these  fellows, 
like  the  poor,  we  have  ever  with  us.  Come,  Major 
Loorais.  You  told  the  best  story  I  ever  heard,  one  night 
when  we  were  camped  at  Warrenton,  in  '63  —  " 

"Yes,  yes,  Major  Ivoomis,"  impatiently  called  a  dozen 
voices. 

"But  my  3^arns  are  all  blood-curdlers."  said  Loomis, 
gravely.  ' '  The  story  Colonel  Grace  refers  to  was  of  the 
supernatural  nature,  and  I  had  happened  to  be  so  placed 
as  to  have  to  hear  -a  good  deal  of  that  sort  of  thing  some 
years  ago. 

"  I  dote  on  ghost  stories — and  Mr.  X.  was  such  a  sell," 
pleaded  the  lady  with  those  eflfective  ej^es. 


THE   major's  story.  81 

"Tell  US  one.  Tell  us  anything,  Major,"  came  from 
the  table  generally. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  it  needs  a  yarn  like  one  of  mine  to 
bring  things  to  a  rational  temperature  after  hours  of  such 
delight  and  festivity.     List — list — oh,  list — 


THE  MAJOR'S  STORY. 

"The  more  we  are  brought  in  contact  with  the  known 
forces  of  Nature  the  more  we  become  impressed  with  the 
fact  that  there  are  subtle  influences  exerted  by  them  on 
the  human  system.  Many  occurrences  which,  in  this  cen- 
tury, we  know  are  the  result  of  contact  with  these  known 
forces  were,  in  the  last  centur)-,  accorded  to  ideas  gen- 
erated by  superstition.  While,  therefore,  enlightenment 
throws  a  mantle  over  superstition,  education  seems  to 
have  lifted  the  veil  of  spiritual  matters  to  such  an  extent 
that  we  no  longer  attribute  to  legerdemain  the  Mesmeric 
power ;  but  are  compelled  to  admit  that  there  are  those 
who  possess  in  a  high  degree  the  power  to  enslave  the 

human  mind,  and  bend  its  every  action  to  the  vagaries  of 
that  power. 

"That  there  are  persons  who  possess  the  gift  of  what 
is  known  as  'second  sight,'  we  do  not  for  one  instant 
doubt ;  but  what  force  is  exerted  upon  the  mind  to  pro- 
duce these  glances  into  unknown  mysteries  has  never 
yet  been  discovered.  We  can  only  accept  facts  as  they 
appear. 

"Captain  Charlie  Calverton,  formerly  of  the  — th  In- 
fantry, was  a  ^varm  personal  friend  of  mine,  and  a  bach- 
elor, somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  fifty  years  of  age 
at  the  time  of  which  I  speak.  I  was  visiting  him  a  few 
years  before  his  death,  at  Fort  Blanco.  While  at  the  post 
4* 


82  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

a  large  dancing  party  wa§  given,  and,  of  course  I,  with 
ni}'  host,  attended.  During  one  of  the  dances  I  was 
seated  near  two  ladies  with  whom  I,  at  intervals,  con- 
versed. At  a  lull  in  the  music  one  of  them  turned  to  me 
and  observed — 

"  '  Major,  I  believe  you  are  one  of  Captain  Calverton's 
oldest  friends  ? ' 

' '  I  admitted  the  fact,  and  paid  some  complimentary 
tribute  to  his  loyalty. 

"  '  Well,'  said  the  lady,  'we  have  often  wondered  why 
he  has  always  remained  a  bachelor.  He  seems  so  defer- 
ential to  women,  and  apparently  is  pleased  with  their 
society ;  he  loves  music,  yet  I  have  never  known  him  to 
dance  ;  and  he  has  a  singular  fondness  for  all  kinds  of 
flowers — that  is,  if  I  except  heliotrope  ?  Perhaps  you 
can  solve  the  riddle  for  us  ? ' 

' ' '  Why  do  you  say  that  he  loves  flowers  of  all  kinds 
except  heliotrope  ?  '  I  queried. 

' '  '  Because  he  cultivates  them  whenever  he  has  the 
opportunity  ;  but  amid  the  endless  variet)-  that  I  have 
known  him  to  have  I  have  never  seen  the  flower  men- 
tioned ;  and  to  convince  me  that  I  was  right  in  my  sur- 
mise, I  have  seen  him  turn  pale  at  the  sight  of  it.  On 
one  occasion  he  was  offered  a  boutonniere  of  heliotrope  by 
a  ladv,  and  his  rejection  of  it  was  really  rude.  You  may 
depend  upon  it  he  was  never  tendered  another  flower  by 
that  lady.' 

' '  I  drew  my  own  conclusions  as  to  who  the  lady  was 
that  had  been  referred  to,  and  therefore,  to  soften  her 
feelings  a  little,  I  told  her  that  the  captain  had  some  very 
painful  recollections  concerning  a  sprig  of  heliotrope.  ^ 

"  •  Oh  !  then  he  has  a  history  ?  '  she  exclaimed.  '  Do 
tell  us  what  it  is  ;  I'm  dying  to  know.' 

"  She  didn't  look  very  much  like  expiring  suddenly,  so 


THE   major's  story.  83 

I  excused  myself  on  the  ground  that  the  Captain's  history- 
was  his  own,  and  that  I  did  not  feel  justified  in  saying 
more  than  I  had  said.  But  that  night,  after  the  Captain 
and  I  had  gone  to  his  quarters,  and  we  were  quietly  en- 
joying our  cigars,  I  alluded  to  the  conversation,  when  he 
approved  of  what  I  had  done,  and  at  the  same  time  re- 
quested me  never  to  allude  to  his  past  life  in  the  presence 
of  others  while  he  was  alive.  A  telegram  hurried  me 
away  the  next  day,  and  so  I  was  saved  the  trouble  of  re- 
fusing the  ladies  a  second  time.  But  the  Captain  is  dead 
now — gone  to  investigate  mysteries  over  which  we  con- 
versed for  many  an  hour.  His  spirit  is  often  with  me.  I'm 
not  a  spiritualist,  either  by  faith  or  practice,  nor  can  I  ac- 
count for  the  mysterious  influence  which  causes  me  to 
feel  a  spiritual  presence  ;  but  so  impressed  have  I  been 
with  that  belief  that  I  have  reviewed  his  whole  life,  and  I 
have,  for  the  first  time,  resolved  to  relate  his  singular  his- 
tory, showing  a  fatality  about  matters  over  which  he 
could  exercise  no  influence. 

"  There  is  a  period  in  the  life  of  all  children  when  they 
begin  to  doubt  the  actual  existence  of  the  mythical  per- 
sonage known  as  '  Santa  Claus.'  Forty-five  j'ears  ago 
this  mysterious  giver  of  all  good  things  was  a  veritable 
individual  in  the  minds  of  children  for  a  longer  period 
than  at  the  present  time.  Hence  it  was  that  Master 
Charlie  Calverton,  who  had  arrived  at  the  sublime  age  of 
eight  years,  had  been  kept  in  ignorance  as  to  the  identity 
of  the  generous  patron  of  Christmas  daj'.  This  may  have 
been  caused  by  several  circumstances,  for  the  largest 
towns  he  had,  up  to  this  time,  seen,  were  those  of  the 
straggling  village  of  Washington  City,  containing  about 
40,000  inhabitants,  and  the  shipping  port  of  Alexandria, 
Va.  ;  and  this  experience  had  been  confined  to  a  single 
visit  of  a  few  days  to  each  of  those  places,  for  his  home 


84  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS   DINNER. 

was  ill  one  of  the  lower  counties  of  Man-land,  bordering 
on  the  Potomac  River.  The  facilities  for  communicating 
with  the  outer  world  were  very  meagre  in  character  at 
the  time  referred  to. 

"  But  at  this  particular  period  of  young  Calverton's  life 
he  began  to  have  his  doubts  about  Santa  Claus,  and  had 
learned  from  a  primar}^  geography,  in  which  he  was  being 
instructed,  that  the  earth  was  supposed  to  be  25,000  miles 
in  circumference.  He  therefore  asked  his  father  one  day 
if  there  was  only  one  Santa  Claus,  to  which  he  received  a 
reply  in  the  affirmative.  His  next  question  was  :  '  Then 
how  can  he  travel  so  many  miles  in  one  night,  and  visit 
so  many  houses  ?  ' 

' '  This  was  somewhat  of  a  poser  for  his  father,  who  did 
not  wish  to  destroy  the  pleasing  fancy  of  childhood.  So 
Charlie  was  told  that  Santa  Claus  had  reindeer  as  swift  as 
the  wind.  He  had  never  seen  a  reindeer,  and  therefore, 
trusting  to  his  father's  superior  knowledge,  he  made  no 
more  inquiries.  -  But  as  Christmas  drew  near  in  this,  to 
him,  ever  memorable  year  of  1845,  from  little  remarks 
that  he  had  overheard  among  his  elders,  his  doubts  re- 
turned in  full  force,  and  he  determined  that  he  would  see 
Santa  Claus  with  his  own  eyes,  even  if  he  had  to  lie  awake 
all  night. 

"In  order  to  have  a  clear  understanding  of  events 
which  took  place,  it  will  be  necessary  to  give  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  home  where  Master  Calverton  first  saw  the 
light  of  day,  and  where  he  was  living  at  this  particular 
time.  The  mansion  was  quite  unimposing  in  character, 
although  somewhat  imposing  in  dimensions.  It  was  a 
kind  of  rambling  frame  structure,  the  central  portion  of 
which,  like  many  other  Southern  houses,  was  two  stories 
in  height,  with  portico  and  large  white  pillars  in  front, 
while  the  remainder  had  been  built  at  different  periods, 


THE   MAJOR'S  STORY.  85 

as  its  succession  of  occupants  had  seen  proper  to  erect  ad- 
ditional rooms,  without  symmetrj',  and  with  no  view  to 
architectural  beauty.  It  was  a  sharp-roofed  building, 
just  affording  space  enough  for  several  sleeping  apart- 
ments above,  while  as  many  chambers  below  were  allot- 
ted for  the  same  purpose.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  a  square 
lawn,  of  rather  large  dimensions,  around  which  towered 
great  Lombardy  poplars,  while  extensive  beds  of  beautiful 
flowers  of  all  descriptions  cheered  the  eye  with  their  varie- 
gated hues.  Some  fifty  paces  from  the  front  row  of  pop- 
lars ran  the  shallow  waters  of  Silver  Creek. 

"  An  immense  hall  ran  through  the  centre  of  the  house, 
on  the  left  of  which,  as  you  entered,  were  three  rooms, 
the  front  being  used  as  a  family  sitting-room,  while  that 
immediately  in  rear  of  it  was  the  bed-room  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Calverton.  The  third  was  built  as  an  addition  on 
the  side,  and  communicated  only  wnth  the  sitting-room. 
This  latter  was  occupied  as  a  chamber  for  Mr.  Calverton' s 
two  children,  Charlie  and  Joe. 

"Christmas  eve  came.  The  boys'  stockings,  as  well 
as  those  of  the  parents  and  the  domestics  of  the  house, 
were,  as  was  customarj^  fastened  to  the  sitting-room 
mantel,  and  the  entire  family  had  retired  to  rest.  From 
the  position  where  Charlie  lay,  tucked  up  in  the  bed- 
clothes, could  be  seen  the  row  of  stockings,  and  while 
awaiting  the  advent  of  Santa  Claus  he  counted  them  over 
and  over-again,  until  it  seemed  to  him  there  were  hun- 
dreds of  them. 

"  He  had  watched  the  flickering  flames  make  their  last 
leap  into  the  wide-mouthed  old  chimney — had  seen  the 
glowing  embers  in  the  fire-place  die  out  one  by  one,  and 
was  thinking  he  had  imposed  upon  himself  a  useless  task, 
when,  suddenly,  the  room  became  illuminated  as  if  by  a 
thousand  candles,  and  as  his  eyes  expanded  with  aston- 


86  THE   colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

isliment,  a  human  female  form  rose  up  as  if  from  beside 
his  bed,  and  rushed  through  the  open  doorway  into  the 
sitting-room.  Charlie  had  always  been  considered  a 
brave  little  fellow,  and  though  terribly  frighened,  jumped 
from  his  bed,  thinking  that  if  Santa  Claus  came  in  that 
manner  a  wonderful  discovery  would  be  made,  and  he 
would  have  the  pleasure  of  relating  how  he  had  caught 
the  old  fellow  in  the  act.  He  therefore  followed  the  glar- 
ing figure  into  the  room.  As  he  neared  the  centre  he 
gave  one  shriek  and  fell  senseless  to  the  floor. 

' '  His  piteous  cry  awakened  both  father  and  mother, 
who  hastily  sprang  from  their  bed,  and  while  the  father 
was  engaged  in  lighting  a  lamp,  the  mother  hurried 
through  the  dark  to  the  bedside  of  her  children.  Finding 
that  Charlie  was  missing  and  that  Joe  was  asleep,  she 
returned  to  the  sitting-room  just  as  Mr.  Calverton  brought 
the  lamp,  and  there  they  discovered  their  senseless  boy, 

' '  '  What  could  it  mean  ?  '  '  What  was  he  doing  there  ? ' 
These  were  the  questions  that  father  and  mother  natu- 
rally asked  each  other  as  they  raised  their  little  boy  from 
the  floor,  and  endeavored  to  resuscitate  him.  But  no 
reply  came  from  those  childish  lips.  Charlie  lay  in  a 
death-like  swoon,  and  the  pulsations  of  his  heart  could 
scarcely  be  distinguished.  A  man-servant  was  called  and 
dispatched  for  the  doctor,  who  lived  only  two  miles  away. 
In  the  meanwhile  the  mother  exhausted  all  her  ingenuity 
in  her  applications  for  restoration.  In  the  course  of  three- 
quarte-S  of  an  hour  the  doctor  arrived,  and  after  having 
been  informed  of  what  had  occurred,  he  commenced  his 
treatment  of  the  case,  succeeding  so  far  that  in  a  short 
while  they  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  Charlie  open  his 
eyes ;  but  iipon  discovering  again  a  bright  light  in  the 
room,  shuddered  as  with  an  ague  and  quickly  closed 
them,  apparentl)'  relapsing  into  his  swoon. 


THE  major's  story.  87 

"  '  What  is  it,  my  son  ?  '  asked  Mrs.  Calverton.  '  Mam- 
ma is  near  you — nothing  can  harm  you.  Tell  me,  my 
boy,  what  is  the  matter  ?  ' 

"After  repeating  these  words  several  times,  while 
bending  over  his  prostrate  form,  Charlie  again  opened 
his  eyes,  and  throwing  his  arms  about  his  mother's  neck, 
exclaimed,  'Oh,  mother.' 

' '  This  was  all  he  could  ssiy,  and  the  doctor  advised 
that  they  leave  all  questioning  alone  until  morning.  So 
the  little  fellow  lay  with  his  arms  about  his  mother's 
neck  until  sleep  overcame  him,  when  he  was  again  placed 
in  his  bed,  while  the  mother  watched  beside  him  during 
the  night.  At  inter\^als  his  little  face  would  warp  as 
with  pain  and  his  body  tremble  from  head  to  foot. 

' '  When  he  finally  awoke,  some  time  after  daylight,  and 
was  questioned  by  his  mother,  he  said  :  '  I  was  watching 
for  Santa  Claus  and  thought  I  had  found  him,  when  I 
discovered  it  was  a  lady  all  on  fire,  and  she  uttered  such 
awful  cries,  and  was  burning  up  so,  that  it  scared  me 
nearly  to  death.' 

"  Mrs.  Calverton  tried  to  convince  her  son  that  he  had 
been  dreaming — that  no  one  had  been  on  fire  and  that 
there  was  no  lady  in  the  house  but  herself,  so  that  he 
must  be  mistaken.  But  Charlie  insisted  on  it  that  he  was 
wide  awake  and  saw  ever^'thing.  No  one  could  conjec- 
ture what  it  all  meant.  The  father  argued  that  the  boy 
had  been  troubled  with  a  bad  dream  ;  the  mother  was  not 
so  well  satisfied,  as  she  had  never  known  him  to  walk  in 
his  sleep  ;  while  the  old  negro  cook  said  :  '  Dere's  gwiue 
ter  be  sumpin'  tur'ble  happen — Mars'  Charlie's  done  got 
secon'  sight.'  There  was  one  thing  certain — Charlie 
never  watched  for  Santa  Claus  a  second  time,  nor  could 
he  ever  be  prevailed  upon  to  sleep  in  the  same  chamber. 

"The  sunny  days  of  childhood  passed  only  too  quickly, 


88  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

and  when  Charlie  arrived  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years 
both  boys  were  sent  off  to  school  at  Baltimore.  At  the 
end  of  three  years  Charlie  was  appointed  a  cadet  at  the 
West  Point  Military-  Academy,  while  Joe  continued  at 
school  for  two  j-ears  longer,  and  finally  entered  college. 

"Charlie  graduated  in  due  time,  and  after  spending 
his  three  months'  furlough  at  home  was  assigned  to  a 
regiment  then  doing  duty  on  the  Indian  frontier.  But 
the  winter  he  spent  there  was  harassing  in  the  extreme, 
on  account  of  the  secession  movement,  and  he  w^as  actu- 
ally glad  when  war  was  declared,  and  he  was  ordered 
with  his  regiment  to  the  East.  This  gave  him  the  oppor- 
tunity of  paying  a  visit  to  his  home,  although  he  ran  the 
risk  of  being  captured  b}^  the  enemy,  who  occupied  the 
lower  Potomac  at  this  time.  Mr.  Calverton  had  strong 
Southern  proclivities,  but  his  wife  was  equally  strong  in 
her  support  of  the  Union,  and  thus  matters  at  home  were 
kept  upon  a  neutral  basis.  The  result,  however,  was  that 
Joe  adopted  the  father's  side  of  the  question,  and  has- 
tened to  join  the  rebel  army  ;  while  Charlie,  although 
urged  by  his  father  to  either  go  South  or  staj^  at  home, 
never  for  an  instant  flagged  in  what  he  considered  his 
du?ty  to  his  country'.  Thus  it  was  that  the  brothers  were 
arrayed  one  against  the  other,  while  the  mother's  heart 
was  torn  wnth  anguish  at  the  thought.  With  bitter  up- 
bra- dings  from  his  father,  and  with  blessings  from  his 
mother,  Charlie  left  home  to  take  his  place  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  and  to  participate  in  the  greatest  strug- 
gle that  any  nation  has  ever  been  called  upon  to  endure. 

' '  During  the  Antietam  campaign  he  received  news  of 
the  death  of  his  father,  but  it  was  not  until  the  armies 
were  confronting  each  other  before  Fredericksburg  that 
he  could  get  away,  and  then  only  for  a  few  days,  he  sim- 
pl}'  having  to   cross   the   Potomac   River.     His  mother 


THE   MAJOR'S  STORY.  89 

begged  him  to  resign  and  stay  at  home  ;  but  he  argued 
that  it  would  be  cowardly  to  do  so  during  hostilities,  and 
a  battle  in  prospect.  He  assured  her,  however,  that  as 
soon  as  the  war  was  over  he  would  tender  his  resignation 
and  devote  his  life  to  her. 

' '  The  day  before  he  left  for  his  station  he  came  into 
the  breakfast-room  looking  pale  and  haggard,  seeing 
which,  his  mother  inquired  if  he  was  ill,  or  if  he  had 
passed  a  restless  night. 

"  '  I  am  not  ill,  mother,'  he  replied,  '  but  I  have  passed 
a  restless  night — all  in  consequence  of  some  peculiar  sen- 
sations that  I  had  before  going  to  bed.  When  I  retired 
to  my  chamber  last  night,  I  sat  by  the  window  smoking 
a  cigar  and  watching  a  few  filmy  clouds  that  were  passing 
rapidly  over  the  moon's  face.  Suddenly  my  mind  became 
fixed,  as  it  were,  and  there  opened  before  my  vision  a 
beautiful  stretch  of  country  that  I  had  never  seen  before 
— a  lovely  valley  between  two  prominent  ridges.  All 
about  me  were  fields  of  girain,  green  meadows  and  ripening 
orchards.  I  found  myself  standing  with  an  anny  on  one 
of  these  ridges.  Presently  a  great  roar  of  artillery  reached 
my  ears,  the  clash  of  arms  resounded,  and  amidst  the  din 
we  moved  forward  down  the  slope  and  across  the  beauti- 
ful valley.  Then  a  great  cloud  seemed  to  envelop  every- 
thing. But,  in  a  little  while,  a  rift  occurred,  and  while  I 
was  watching  it  I  saw  father,  as  plain  as  I  ever  saw  him 
in  life,  stretch  forth  his  hands,  and  in  another  moment  I 
saw  brother  Joe  running  to  meet  him  with  outstretched 
arms.  In  an  instant  he  was  drawn  to  father's  breast  ; 
and  while  they  stood  with  arms  locked  about  each  other 
the  rift  in  the  cloud  closed  and  obscured  them  from  view. 
I  called  to  them  several  times,  and  then  the  cloud  broke 
again  ;  but  this  time  father  and  Joe  were  moving  forward, 
arm-in-arm,  with   eager  expectation   on   their  faces.      I 


yO  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

called  again,  but  they  paid  no  attention  to  me.  Suddenly, 
out  of  the  cloud  on  the  other  side  of  the  rift,  you  appeared, 
with  a  most  radiant  smile  on  your  face,  and  rushed  into 
father's  arms.  Then  all  became  black.  With  the  per- 
spiration standing  in  great  beads  on  my  forehead,  I  re- 
covered from  the  mysterious  spell  with  which  I  had 
become  transfixed,  and  saw  that  the  clouds  had  gathered 
in  masses,  and  that  the  moon  was  peeping  through  %  rift 
in  them.  I  tried  to  convince  myself  that  it  was  a  dream, 
but  it  was  of  no  use,  and  so  I  lay  awake  nearly  all  night.' 

"  '  It  was  but  a  dream,  however,'  said  Mrs.  Calverton, 
'  caused  by  j'our  watching  the  clouds.  Of  course  it  can 
mean  nothing,  my  boy.  Do  you  remember  what  a  dream 
you  had  about  Santa  Claus  when  you  were  a  child  ? 
Nothing  ever  came  of  that.' 

"  '  That  is  true,'  Charlie  replied  ;  '  and  I  trust  nothing 
will  ever  come  of  this,  but  I  cannot  rid  myself  of  the  in- 
fluence.' 

^i  ^  ^  *i'  ^  ^  ^  'T*  •T*  ^ 

"  It  was  the  2d  day  of  July,  1863.  Night  had  thrown 
her  mantle  around  the  bullet-scarred  face  of  the  '  Round- 
Top,'  and  over  the  shell-plowed  furrows  of  the  '  Peach- 
Orchard,'  through  which  the  serried  columns  of  both 
Union  and  Confederate  armies  had  successively  charged 
that  day,  leaving  the  blue  and  the  gray  intermingled  on 
the  battle-field. 

"  The  last  boom  of  the  brazen  gun  had  died  away  upon 
the  summer  air  ;  the  last  sharp  crack  of  the  rifle  had  been 
heard,  and  the  hostile  armies  that  had  confronted  each 
other  on  that  fatal  field  of  carnage— Gettysburg— were 
lying  peacefully  sleeping,  many  of  their  members  never 
to  awaken  until  the  reveille  of  the  resurrection  arouses 
them  "from  their  slumbers.  The  wounded  lay  there,  look- 
ing up  at  the  bright  stars  of  heaven  ;  some  wishing  that 


THE   major's  story.  91 

death  would  end  their  miseries,  and  others  fondly  think- 
ing of  their  homes,  wondering  if  they  would  ever  see  their 
loved  ones  again.  Mysterious-looking  objects  in  human 
shape  were  darting  here  and  there  through  the  Peach- 
Orchard,  flashing  ever}-  now  and  then  the  light  of  lan- 
terns on  the  prostrate  forms  lying  there  in  the  starlight. 
These  were  the  surgeons  and  their  attendants  of  the  Union 
army  seeking  out  their  wounded  and  having  them  re- 
moved from  the  field.  One  of  these  flashes  fell  full  upon 
the  face  of  a  fine-looking  fellow  dressed  in  Confederate 
gra}-,  and  one  of  the  attendants  remarked  :  '  Well,  he's 
a  handsome  corpse.'  The  words  were  no  sooner  uttered 
than  the  individual  referred  to  opened  his  e3^es  and  asked 
for  a  drink  of  water.  Certainly  they  would  give  it  to 
him,  for  no  animosities  exist  between  brave  men  when 
they  are  placed  hors  de  combat.  One  of  the  attendants 
stooped  down  and  raised  the  poor  fellow's  head  while 
another  applied  the  canteen  to  his  lips.  After  taking  a 
long  draught,  the  wounded  man  said,  as  his  head  was 
again  placed  upon  the  sod  :  '  Thank  you  ;  I  can  die  com- 
fortably now.' 

' '  '  Are  you  so  badly  wounded  ?  '  asked  the  doctor. 

"  'Mortally,'  he  replied. 

"  '  It  may  not  be  as  you  think,'  said  the  doctor,  pro- 
ceeding to  examine  the  wound.  But  in  a  few  moments 
he  shook  his  head  and  said  :  '  I'm  afraid  it  is  all  up  with 
3'ou,  my  boy.  You  can't  live  an  hour.  It  would  be 
causing  you  useless  pain  to  move  you.  Is  there  anything 
you  would  like  me  to  do  for  you — any  message  you  would 
like  to  send  to  3'our  people  ? ' 

"'Yes,  doctor,  thank  you;  I  have  a  brother  in  the 
Union  army,  and  if  he  can  bury  me  so  that  my  body 
might  be  recovered  and  taken  home  to  Old  Maryland — 
to  the  old  place — I  would  like  him  to  do  that  much  as 


92  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

the  most  he  can  do  for  me  now.  His  name  is  Charlie  Cal- 
verton,  of  the  Regulars.' 

"  '  My  God  !  '  came  in  solemn  tones  out  of  the  dark- 
ness, a  few  yards  away  ;  and  as  the  doctor  turned  to  as- 
certain from  whence  the  sound  proceeded,  the  voice  con- 
tinued : 

"  '  Doctor,  doctor  !  come  this  way,  please  ;  I  am  Char- 
lie Calverton  !  ' 

' '  It  was  but  a  few  moments  before  the  blue  and  the 
gray  were  lying  side  by  side — Charlie  with  a  leg  fractured 
above  the  knee,  and  his  brother  Joe  with  a  mortal  wound 
through  the  abdomen.  Charlie  slipped  his  arm  under 
Joe's  head  and  drew  it  to  his  bosom,  and  there,  while  the 
summer  breeze  whispered  a  requiem,  the  two  brothers, 
who,  but  a  few  hours  before,  had  been  arraj'ed  against 
each  other  in  mortal  combat,  breathed  a  last  loving  fare- 
well on  earth. 

' '  Having  placed  the  brothers  together,  the  doctor  left 
them  alone,  promising  to  come  back.  He  then  proceeded 
with  his  attendants  on  his  dreary  rounds.  When  he  re- 
turned Joe's  spirit  had  taken  its  flight.  He  could  not 
bear  to  separate  them,  and  therefore  the  dead  and  the 
wounded  were  taken  together  from  the  field  to  the  rear  of 
the  Union  arni}^,  where  the  final  separation  had  to  take 
place — Charlie  being  placed  in  the  hospital  and  Joe  buried 
in  a  spot  that  was  marked  by  the  doctor. 

' '  The  news  that  reached  the  old  Marj'land  home  from 
that  dreary  field,  through  the  press,  shriveled  the  mother's 
heart  with  a  mighty  sorrow,  and  prostrated  her  on  a  bed 
of  sickness,  during  which  time  she  wrote  to  an  old  friend 
in  Baltimore — a  Mrs.  Meredith — to  come  to  her  in  this 
her  hour  of  extreme  trial.  Mrs.  Meredith  promptly 
obeyed  the  summons  of  her  friend,  and  took  her  daugh- 
ter, Nellie,  along.  The  latter  had  just  returned  from  com- 


THE   major's  story.  93 

pleting  her  education  at  Boston,  and  was  glad  of  the 
oppoitunity  thus  offered  for  a  little  country  life. 

"After  the  annies  had  disappeared  from  the  field  ol 
Gettysburg,  Charlie  Calve"rton  was  removed  to  a  hospital 
in  Baltimore,  and  subsequently  transferred  to  the  hospital 
for  officers,  at  Annapolis,  from  which  place  he  wTote  to 
his  mother,  giving  her  an  account  of  the  sad  affair  at 
Gettysburg,  and  informing  her  that  as  soon  as  he  was 
able  to  get  about  he  would  obtain  a  leave  of  absence  and 
visit  home.  Upon  lea\4ng  Gettysburg  he  gave  an  accu- 
rate description  of  Joe's  grave  to  an  undertaker,  and 
directed  the  body  to  be  embalmed  and  expressed  to  his 
mother's  house,  where  it  arrived  in  due  season,  and  was 
interred  in  the  family  lot. 

"One  bright,  balmy  day  in  the  early  part  of  September 
found  Charhe  on  crutches  at  the  door  of  the  paternal  man- 
sion ;  but  instead  of  his  mother  to  greet  him,  there  was  a 
strange  lady.  Beside  her  was  a  picture  of  youthful  loveli- 
ness, such  as  Charlie  thought  he  had  never  seen  before. 
She  was  dressed  in  a  ccrstume  of  simple  white,  with  masses 
of  dark-brown  hair  forming  a  coronet  to  the  beautiful  face. 
Lieutenant  Charlie  Calverton,  U.  S.  A.,  was  from  this 
moment  a  captured  individual.  He  was  warmly  wel- 
comed both  by  Mrs.  Meredith  and  her  daughter,  and  at 
once  conducted  to  his  mother,  who  was  still  an  invalid 
and  confined  to  her  room. 

' '  After  mutual  embraces,  and  many  inquiries  regard- 
ing the  death  of  Joe,  Mrs.  Calverton  obser\-ed-^'  Now 
that  I  have  you  again,  Charlie,  j'ou  must  never  leave  me  ; 
you  must  resign,  and  come  home  to  live.  I  will  not  be 
long  on  this  earth.' 

"  '  Dearest  mother,'  said  Charlie,  '  I  will  stay  with  you 
as  long  as  I  can  possibly  do  so  ;  but  it  is  doubtful  if  my 
resignation  would  be  accepted  at  the  present  time.     The 


94  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

Goveniinent  is  straining  ever}^  nerve  to  secure  men.  See 
what  New  York  City  has  had  to  undergo  during  the  past 
month  on  account  of  the  riots  produced  by  the  draft.  As 
soon  as  the  war  is  over  I  will  return  home  and  remain 
with  you  all  my  life.' 

"  'Ah,  my  dear  son,'  she  languidly  replied,  '  it  will  all 
be  over  with  me  before  the  end  of  the  war,  and  I  feel  the 
necessity  here  of  your  strong  assistance. ' 

"  'But,  mother,'  he  added,  'you  are  feeling  weak  and 
sick  now — you  will  be  better  after  awhile,  and  then  we 
will  think  about  what  you  desire.  Until  then  say  no 
more  about  the  matter  ;  I  am  here,  now,  and  here  I  will 
have  to  remain  until  I  can  get  about  on  my  pins  again.' 

"'Very  well,  my  dear,'  she  replied,  'I  agree  to  your 
proposition.  Now  give  me  another  kiss,  and  go  to  your 
room  and  make  yourself  presentable,  for  there  is  a  very 
lovely  girl  here  w^hom  it  wall  be  pleasant  for  you  to 
meet.' 

"  '  I  have  met  her  already,  mother,  and,  do  you  know, 
I  have  fallen  desperately  in  love  ?  '  • 

"'Indeed!'  exclaimed  Mrs.  Calverton,  elevating  her 
eyebrows  ;  and  then,  as  her  son  passed  out  of  the  room, 
she  said  to  herself,  '  I  trust  it  may  be  mutual ; '  for,  after 
having  seen  Nellie  gliding  about  the  house  like  a  fairy 
for  the  past  two  months,  and  heard  her  joyous  ripples  of 
laughter,  she  could  not  but  think  that  the  charming  girl 
would  make  her  son  an  excellent  wife. 

"When  the  family  met  at  dinner  that  day  Nellie  Mere- 
dith was  more  charming  than  ever,  and  in  her  beautiful 
costume  of  white  lace  was,  to  Charlie  Calverton' s  eyes, 
perfection  itself.  As  they  arose  from  the  dinner-table  a 
white  rosebud  dropped  from  the  flowers  fastened  on  Nel- 
lie's bosom,  and  Charlie  quickly  picked  it  up,  saying,  as 
he  did  so,  '  May  I  keep  it  ?  ' 


THE  major's  story.  95 

"  '  No,'  she  replied,  adding,  '  it  is  not  worth  keeping.' 
Then  taking  a  sprig  of  heliotrope  from  the  other  flowers 
at  her  bosom,  she  presented  it  to  him,  saying,  '  This  is 
my  favorite  flower.' 

' '  Mrs.  Meredith  remained  with  Mrs.  Calverton  for 
several  weeks  after  Charlie's  arrival,  but,  as  she  saw  that 
her  friend  was  steadily  improving,  she  finally  took  her 
departure  with  Nellie — Charlie  having,  in  the  meanwhile, 
availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  to  enjoy  the  beauti- 
ful girl's  society.  In  fact,  he  had  become  deeply  in  love 
with  her,  but  had  advanced  no  further  in  making  known 
that  fact  to  her  than  obtaining  permission  to  call  her 
Nellie 

' '  Thus  matters  stood  in  the  month  of  April  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  when  Charlie  felt  that  it  was  time  for  him  to 
report  for  duty  with  his  regiment,  his  mother  having  ap- 
parently recovered  her  health,  and  his  fractured  limb  no 
longer  giving  him  trouble.  After  much  opposition  on 
the  part  of  his  mother,  he  proceeded  to  Baltimore,  deter- 
mined to  see  Nellie  Meredith  before  he  took  the  field ; 
but  at  the  same  time  resolved  not  to  make  known  his  love 
until  he  could  ask  her  hand  in  marriage.  He  therefore 
stopped  at  a  hotel  for  a  few  days,  although  the  Merediths 
urged  him  to  remain  with  them,  and  paid  daily  visits  to 
Nellie.  It  was  the  night  before  his  intended  departure 
from  the  city,  and  having  bade  the  famil}'  good-bye,  Nel- 
lie accompanied  him  to  the  front  door. 

"  She  stood  in  the  doorway  like  a  framed  picture,  and 
in  the  bright  moonlight  which  flooded  the  front  of  the 
house,  her  loveliness  was  plainly  to  be  seen.  The  form, 
dainty  and  small,  was  set  off"  by  an  evening  dress  of  pink, 
of  some  gauzy  material.  A  fin«  white  Shetland  shawl, 
which  should  have  co\'ered  the  shoulders  and  protected 
them  from  the  dews  which  were  beginning  to  fall,  had 


96         THE  colonel's  chrlstmas  dinner. 

dropped  away  and  exposed  to  view  the  exquisitely 
moulded  form.  Her  face  was  upturned  to  the  evening 
sk}',  in  which  CharUe  discerned  an  air  of  wistfuhiess,  al- 
most amounting  to  longing.  The  contour  of  it  was  deli- 
cate ;  its  beauty  was  of  an  order  rare  and  peculiar. 
Large,  luminous  and  star-like  were  the  dark  ej'es.  The 
complexion  was  of  a  clear  olive,  with  just  a  shade  of  col- 
oring, which  gathered  into  the  deep  crimson  of  her  sweet 
and  tender  lips.  Great  masses  of  dark  brown  hair  were 
drawn  back  from  the  pure  and  perfect  face,  and  arranged 
in  coils  around  the  head. 

' '  As  Charlie  stood  beside  her  he  feasted  his  eyes  on 
her  loveliness  ;  in  a  moment  he  held  in  his  own  the  dear 
delicate  hand.  How  tiny  it  looked,  with  the  dainty  ruf- 
fles of  costly  lace  almost  covering  it  !  His  heart  beat  so 
quickly  that  for  a  moment  he  could  not  speak.  The  sub- 
tle, nameless  influence  of  the  scene  and  hour  was  upon 
him  ;  he  w^as  longing  to  take  the  small  form  into  his 
arms,  to  press  fond,  lingering  kisses  upon  the  sweet  crim- 
son lips.  After  a  minute's  silence  she  turned  her  great 
dark  eyes,  filled  with  a  soft,  shy  light,  to  his  face. 

"The  innocent,  child-like  face,  with  its  exquisite 
beauty.  How  strongly,  how  deeply  it  moved  him  !  The 
wild  love  surging  within  him  would  no  longer  be  put 
aside  ;  it  cried  out,  demanding  satisfaction.  Ardent,  pas- 
sionate words  rose  to  his  lips  ;  it  was  with  difficulty  he 
controlled  his  emotions  as  to  speak  wnth  a  semblance  of 
Calmness.  Holding  her  little  hand  tightly  in  both  of  his 
own  he  said  softly,  '  Nellie,  I  love  you.' 

"  By  the  faint  pale  light  he  could  see  how  the  fast- 
coming  blushes  dyed  the  delicate  cheeks — how  the  white 
lids,  with  their  long  heavy  fringes,  suddenly  drooped  over 
the  glorious  dark  eyes. 

"  '  I  have  loved  you  for  a  long  time,'  he  said,  bending 


THE  major's  story.  97 

over  the  small  form  ;  '  so  dearly-  that  I  feared  to  trust  my- 
self ill  your  presence,  lest  by  word  or  look  I  might  betray 
my  love.' 

"  Still  the  white  lids  drooped,  and  she  shrank  back  a 
little,  where,  in  the  shadow  of  the  doorway,  he  could  not 
see  her  face  so  plainly. 

"  '  I  dreaded  lest  I  should  betra}-  my  love,  and  so  incur 
your  displeasure,'  he  continued.  'I  feared,  too,  that 
your  mother  might  be  annoyed  if  she  learned  that  I  had 
presumed  to  entrammel  her  daughter  just  as  I  was  going 
to  the  field  ;  and  so  I  resolved  to  quit  your  house  to-night 
and  try  to  conquer  my  love  until  such  time  as  I  could 
offer  j'ou  a  home.' 

"The  little  form  shrank  still  farther  back  amidst  the 
shadowy  dimness  of  the  hallway.     Charlie  followed. 

Nellie,  it  seems  as  though  I  had  never  known,  until 
this  evening,  the  meaning  of  the  word  happiness— as  if  I 
had  never  known  before  how  fair  was  the  earth.  The 
flowers  seem  to  have  gained  new  beauty  ;  even  the  moon- 
light seems  broader  and  brighter ;  and  all  because  I  love 
you. ' 

"  A  great  silence  reigned  around  them— he  was  grow- 
ing desperate. 

'"Nellie,  my  love,  my  darling,  can  I  dare  hope  that 
you  love  me  ? ' 

"  But  still  she  did  not  speak  ;  and  hope,  which  beat  so 
high  in  Charlie  Calverton's  breast,  now  began  to  fade 
away. 

'"My  darling,'  he  pleaded,  'I  love  you  so  dearly— 
give  me  some  hope. ' 

"  But  not  a  Avord  did  she  utter.  Hope  died  out  then. 
He  released  her  hand  with  a  heavy  sigh  and  turned  to  go 
away. 

Forgive  me,'  he  said,  '  if  I  have  pained  you.     Per- 
5 


98  THE   colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

haps  you  may  think  I  presume,  even  if  my  mother  does 

not  think  so  ? ' 

"  He  stood  for  a  moment  in  the  doorway.  The  moon- 
beams falling  upon  his  face  revealed  its  deathlike  white- 
ness -  its  rigid,  set  expression  of  bitter  pain. 

"'Good-bye,  Nellie,'  he  said;  'I  pray  that  j'ou  will 
forget  that  I  ever  presumed  upon  your  kindness. ' 

"  He  stepped  out  on  the  porch,  never  looking  behind 
him.  Wounded  pride  and  love  were  making  life  seem  a 
most  undesirable  gift  to  him  just  then. 

"Then  there  was  a  rustle  of  fabrics,  a  little  faint  cry  of 
'  Charlie,'  and  a  tiny,  trembling  hand  was  laid  upon  his  arm. 

"  Oh,  the  change  that  passed  over  his  face— the  joy 
that  flashed  into  his  gray  eyes  ! 

"  '  Nellie,  my  love,  my  darling,"  he  whispered,  as  his 
arm  stole  about  her  delicate  waist,  and  he  bent  over  her 
to  catch  the  faintest  whisper  from  her  crimson  lips. 

"  '  I  love  you,  Charlie,'  she  murmured  ;  '  I  have  loved 
you  ever  since  I  first  met  you.' 

"  He  caught  her  in  his  arms  and  held  her  against  his 
loyal  heart — the  dainty  form  he  loved  sO  well.  He  pressed 
fond,  lingering  kisses  upon  the  warm  lips  that  were  now 
sealed  to  his  own. 

"  '  My  life,  my  love,  my  queen,'  he  murmured  ;  '  how 
I  love  you — oh,  how  I  love  you  !  ' 

"  They  stood  silently,  then,  she  nestling  to  his  side  as 
though  there  she  had  found  her  home.  She  was  not  a 
grand,  dignified  w'oman,  this  Nellie  Meredith  ;  she  was 
simply  a  clinging,  sensitive,  innocent  girl,  with  a  nature 
which  gave  affection  and  craved  the  same  in  return.  She 
loved  Charlie  Calverton,  and  the  knowledge  that  he  loved 
her  so  filled  her  heart  with  supreme  happiness  that  her 
lips  refused  to  speak  luitil  despair  seized  her  at  the 
thought  of  his  leaving  her. 


THE  major's  story.  99 

"  '  It  may  be  years  yet  before  the  war  terminates,  Nel- 
lie, '  he  said ;  '  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  may  I  claim 
you  for  my  little  wife  ?  ' 

"  '  Yes,  Charlie,  I  will  wait  for  you,'  she  replied,  look- 
ing into  his  eyes  and  then  kissing  him  fer\'eutly.  '  There,' 
she  said,  *  that's  the  first  kiss  I  ever  gave  to  any  man,  and 
it  is  to  seal  mj-  promise.' 

"  '  God  bless  and  protect  j'ou,  my  own  dear  love,'  he 
said,  as  he  bent  over  her  and  took  a  last  lingering  good- 
bye kiss.  And  then  he  left  her  with  his  heart  full  of 
gladness— nay,  unbounded  joy  —  the  remembrance  of 
which  consoled  him  during  man}-  a  hard  march  and  fiery 
battle  in  those  uncertain  days  of  '64,  from  the  Wilderness 
to  Petersburg.  At  the  first  opportunity  he  wrote  to  Mr. 
Meredith,  telling  him  of  his  love  for  Nellie,  and  askinsr 
her  hand  in  marriage  as  soon  as  the  war  was  over.  He 
received  a  ver\'  kind  letter  in  reply,  stating  that  if  he  and 
Nellie  were  of  the  same  mind  when  that  event  took  place, 
he  himself  would  interpose  no  objection. 

"When  the  army  had  settled  down  for  the  complete 
investment  of  Petersburg  and  the  chilly  days  of  winter 
had  come,  Charlie  Calverton  was  once  more  called  upon 
to  witness  the  verification  of  his  singular  presentiment, 
for  Mrs.  Calverton 's  health  rapidly  declined  on  the  ap- 
proach of  winter,  and  Charlie  had  barely  time  to  reach 
home  after  receiving  the  news  of  her  illness,  before  she 
passed  over  to  the  other  shore  to  meet  her  husband  and 
Joe. 

' '  Charlie  was  now  alone  in  the  world — all  the  family 
gone.  The  old  Maryland  home  was  too  full  of  sad  as.so- 
ciations,  and  therefore  leaviiig  it  in  charge  of  an  overseer, 
he  visited  Baltimore  and  gave  full  authority  to  an  agent 
to  dispose  of  the  property.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  dur- 
ing the  two  days  he  was  there  he  spent  most  of  the  time 


100  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS   DINNER. 

with  his  charming  Jiancee,  and  then  hurried  back  to  his 
regiment,  to  participate  in  the  campaign  of  1865. 

;!;  ^  '^i  -^  ;1;  ;•;  ;[:  -^  -J^:  ^ 

"At  last  peace  was  announced,  and  one  day  in  the 
month  of  May  Charlie  started  for  the  purpose  of  making 
arrangements  for  his  wedding-day  ;  but  upon  his  arrival 
in  Baltimore  he  found  that  the  family  had  gone  to  Lower 
Maryland  for  the  summer.  Ascertaining  their  where- 
abouts, he  followed  quickly,  and  upon  his  arrival  was 
astonished  to  find  that  they  were  living  in  his  old  home, 
which  Mr.  Meredith  had  purchased  from  the  agent,  and 
Nellie  had  purposely  kept  him  in  ignorance  of  the  fact, 
thinking  it  would  be  a  pleasant  surprise.  And,  indeed, 
it  was  intended  as  such  to  Nellie  herself,  for  Mr.  Mere- 
dith had  remodeled  the  house  materially  and  furnished 
it  in  modern  style,  desiring  to  present  it  to  her  on  her 
wedding-day.  The  first  Tuesday  in  September  was, 
therefore,  fixed  upon  as  the  day  for  the  happy  event,  after 
which  they  were  all  to  return  to  Baltimore  for  the  winter  ; 
but  when  that  time  came,  and  Charlie  applied  for  a  leave 
of  absence,  the  authorities  declined  to  grant  it,  but  in- 
formed him  that  he  could  renew  his  application  after  the 
winter  began.  It  was  then  decided  that  the  family  should 
remain  at  the  old  homestead  until  after  the  Christmas 
hohdays,  and  the  wedding  take  place  on  Christmas  day. 

' '  The  holiday  season  came  at  last.  The  rooms  fonner- 
ly  occupied  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Calverton  and  the  boys  had 
been  decorated  and  furnished  especially  for  the  bride  and 
groom,  and  Nellie  was  occupying  the  boys'  bed-chamber 
already.  Charlie  had  been  at  the  house  for  several  days. 
Several  friends  of  the  family  had  arrived  from  Baltimore 
and  were  attending  to  their  own  afiairs.  It  was  Christ- 
mas eve.  The  trousseau  had  all  been  prepared,  and  the 
dressmaker,  who  had  been  summoned  for  the  purpose 


THE   major's   story.  101 

from  Baltimore,  was  to  see  that  ever}- thing  was  en  regie. 
Nellie  concluded  that  while  the  others  about  the  house 
were  engaged  in  their  preparations  for  the  festivities  she 
would  try  on  the  wedding-dress,  under  the  supervision  of 
her  mother. 

"  Accordingl}-  she  arrayed  herself  in  her  wedding  ap- 
parel, and  then  sent  for  Charlie  to  come  to  the  sitting- 
room  and  inspect  it.  Standing  in  the  centre  of  the  old 
room,  he  first  admired  his  promised  bride  at  some  dis- 
tance, exclaiming,  '  How  beautiful  you  are  ! '  and  then 
he  gently  drew  her  to  his  bosom  and  imprinted  a  loving 
kiss  on  her  tender  lips,  saj'ing,  '  I  love  you  !  I  love  3'ou 
— oh,  so  dearly  ! ' 

"  As  he  released  her  from  his  embrace  she  stepped  to  a 
table  that  was  loaded  with  flowers,  and  selecting  a  sprig 
of  heliotrope  therefrom,  said  : 

"  'When  we  first  met,  Charlie,  I  gave  you  a  sprig  of 
va.y  favorite  flower ;  now  I  give  you  another,  darling, 
with  the  full  force  of  all  that  its  emblem  implies — my 
heart's  devotion.' 

"  He  took  the  flower,  kissed  her  again  and  again  with  a 
lover's  fervency,  and  then  she  retired  to  her  room,  while 
he  proceeded  to  pin  the  sprig  of  heliotrope  to  the  lappel 
of  his  coat.  He  had  barelj'  succeeded  in  doing  this  when 
a  scream  of  anguish,  that  rang  out  upon  the  frostj^  air 
like  the  wail  of  some  tortured  victim,  reached  his  ears, 
and  before  he  could  realize  from  whence  the  sound  pro- 
ceeded, the  bright  happy  being,  who  had  left  him  scarcely 
five  minutes  before,  rushed  from  her  room  enveloped  in 
flames  from  head  to  foot.  The  maid  had  placed  the  lamp 
on  the  floor,  the  better  to  see  how  to  unfasten  her  satin 
shoes,  when,  by  some  movement  of  hers,  it  was  knocked 
over,  the  chimney  broken,  and  the  light,  filmy  drapery 
took  fire.     The  girl  lost  her  presence  of  mind  and  threw 


102  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

herself  on  the  floor.  Mrs.  Meredith,  who  was  sitting  on 
the  other  side  of  the  room,  sprang  from  her  chair  to  ren- 
der assistance ;  but  NelHe  rushed  through  the  doorway 
to  the  sitting-room  for  Charlie.  Regardless  of  himself, 
he  grabbed  at  the  fire  until  his  hair  and  eyebrows  were 
singed,  and  his  hands  and  arms  burned  to  blisters,  while 
she,  suffocated  by  the  flames,  fell  dead  in  the  centre  of 
the  room,  the  sickening  flames  lapping  and  hissing  as 
they  charred  the  beautiful  skin  into  blackened  parchment, 
at  the  sight  of  which  Charlie  Calverton  fell  on  the  floor 
insensible. 

"This  is  the  reason  why,  twenty  years  afterwards,  he 
died  a  bachelor. ' ' 

' '  We  must  have  something  to  drive  away  the  effect  of 
that.  Come  !  I  have  it.  Place  aux  Da/ncs.  And  who 
can  bring  us  back  to  sunshine  better  than  she  who 
drove  me  to  it  ?"  quoth  the  Major,  a  moment  later. 
"  Come,  fair  lady, — it  is  for  you  to  speak,"  and  he  bowed 
low  to  the  blue  eyes.  In  an  instant  the  table  echoed  the 
appeal.  Pleas,  objections,  resistance— all  were  in  vain. 
At  last  the  silver}^  tones  of  a  woman's  voice  were  alone 
audible.     All  others  were  hushed. 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT. 

/.     The  Gift. 

"  Miss  Dolly  Devereux,  aged  sixteen,  was  the  most  in- 
corrigible pupil  in  Madame  I,a  Pierre's  '  select  school  for 
3'oung  ladies.'  There  were  numerous  others  who,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  dark  background  of  Dolly's  naughtiness, 
against  which  their  minor  delinquencies  were  thrown  out 
white,  by  contrast,  might  indeed  have  been  considered  in- 
tractable ;   but  her  matchless  depravity  completely  sur- 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  103 

passed  them  all,  and  placed  her  on  a  pedestal  quite  alone. 
Who  set  pins  in  the  kneeling-bench,  upon  the  precise 
spot  where  the  Reverend  Dr.  Dean's  knees  must  press,  as 
he  prostrated  himself  in  prayer  in  the  school  chapel? 
Who  basely  stole  and  secreted  Madame' s  best  wig  the 
night  she  was  invited  to  a  grand  dinner-party  ?  Who 
personated  a  ghost,  at  the  witching  midnight  hour,  and 
frightened  Miss  Meeks,  the  teacher  of  mathematics,  into 
violent  hysterics  ?  Dolly  Devereux  ;  and  these  misde- 
meanors was  Dolly  guilty  of  committing  within  the  lim- 
ited space  of  two  weeks,  so  that  Madame' s  long-suffering 
spirit  rose  and  boiled  over  to  such  an  extent  that  ^Miss 
Devereux  was  (as  she  expressed  it)  '  rusticated,'  and  sent 
home  for  penitence  and  reflection  before  the  Christmas 
holidays  began.  Patience  had  ceased  to  be  a  virtue,  in 
Madame' s  opinion,  and  she  had  felt  that  it  would  be  more 
than  she  could  bear  to  tolerate  the  3'oung  vandal's  pres- 
ence a  day  longer  than  was  absolutely  necessar>^  beneath 
her  roof.  This  punishment  was  received  with  aggravat- 
ing cheerfulness  by  the  delinquent,  who  had  not  dared 
hope  to  leave  the  establishment  for  any  vacation,  however 
well  merited  and  earned.  She  had  been  placed  under 
Madame' s  care  at  the  mature  age  of  thirteen,  or  there- 
abouts, and  there  she  had  ever  since  remained,  without 
once  having  gladdened  the  hearts  and  homes  of  her  rela- 
tives and  friends.  Her  mother,  after  a  decorous  period  of 
widowhood,  had  wedded  an  army  oflBcer  high  in  rank, 
when  her  only  child  was  twelve  years  old  ;  and,  after  a 
brief  period,  rendered  lurid  by  the  light  of  that  weird 
child's  presence  in  the  newly-formed  family -circle,  a 
boarding-school  in  New  York  had  been  selected,  and 
Dolly's  young  idea  had  been  invited  to  shoot  in  a  novel 
and  unexplored  direction. 

' '  Now  her  school  career  was  summarily  ended  (for  the 


104  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

present,  at  least),  and  she  descended  like  a  bomb-shell 
upon  the  hitherto  comparatively  peaceful  household  of 
her  step-father,  Colonel  Everett  Poppleton,  at  Fort  Wash- 
ington, Nebraska. 

"  It  was  the  i4tli  of  December  when  she  arrived,  and 
by  the  iSth  she  rejoiced  in  the  acquaintance  of  nearly 
everybody  on  the  post,  was  intimate  with  several,  had 
befriended  the  laundresses,  and  made  pets  of  the  soldier's 
children.  She  did  not  believe  in  class  prejudices  in  the 
army  or  out  of  it,  she  remarked  nonchalantly  to  her  step- 
father, having  scandalized  him  by  presenting  a  paper  of 
peanuts  to  his  immaculate  and  hitherto  statuesque  orderly 
beneath  his  very  eyes. 

"Colonel,  or  General  Poppleton,  as  he  desired  to  be 
called,  spent  his  days  in  a  maze  of  horrified  incredulity, 
excited  by  his  step-daughter's  alarming  escapades.  Mrs. 
Poppleton  speedily  settled  into  a  species  of  despairing 
resignation,  while  those  outside,  whom  Dolly's  follies  and 
frolics  concerned  not,  smiled  leniently  upon  her,  criticised 
her  good-naturedly,  and  admired  and  wondered  over  her 
from  a  distance  at  which  they  felt  themselves  safe.  She 
was,  be  it  understood,  a  remarkably  prepossessing  young 
person  in  the  trifling  matter  of  appearance,  with  particu- 
larly guileless  blue  eyes,  short  baby  curls  of  a  golden  hue, 
and  a  smile  that  could  beguile  the  heart  of  the  veriest 
cynic.  Therefore  it  was  only  those  unfortunate  enough 
to  be  tied  to  her  by  the  bonds  of  kinship,  and  thus  able 
to  regard  her  charms  from  an  entirely  dispassionate  point 
of  view,  who  found  it  possible  to  set  Dolly  down,  once  for 
all,  as  a  being  totally  obnoxious.  Indeed,  to  General 
Poppleton' s  alarm  and  astonishment,  the  new  and  unwel- 
come addition  to  his  private  family  bade  fair  to  prove  an 
unexampled  favorite  with  the  members  of  his  official 
family  constituting  the  social  life  of  the  post.     And  in- 


DACRE'S   CHRISTMAS   GIFT.  105 

variably  {perhaps  it  was  a  mere  accident  of  fate)  the 
young  lady  selected  as  her  '  most  cherished '  those  per- 
sons in  the  garrison — unhappily  numerous — who  had 
been  so  unfortunate  as  to  come  under  the  commanding 
officer's  ban. 

"  Lieutenant  Oliver  Renshaw,  for  instance,  was  on 
'  official  tenus  '  only  with  his  colonel ;  and  of  course  his 
sister,  Mrs.  Lansing,  was,  so  far  as  General  Poppleton's 
family  was  concerned,  also  socially  '  tabooed.'  It  was, 
therefore,  to  those  who  had  made  any  attempt  at  studying 
Miss  Devereux's  character,  a  matter  for  no  surprise,  but 
rather  the  contrary,  that  she  should  select  the  said  Mrs. 
Lansing  as  first  confidante  and  friend.  Indeed,  she  went 
so  far  as  to  rave  over  the  last  candidate  for  her  affections, 
in  true  school-girl  fashion,  at  home  as  well  as  abroad.  'Such 
a  beauty  ! '  she  would  cry,  enthusiastically.  '  The  very 
prettiest  woman  I  ever  saw,  and  with  such  charming 
manners  !  Only  twenty-five,  and  yet  a  widow  ;  quite  the 
most  romantic  thing  I  ever  heard.  I  only  wish  /  were 
twenty-five  and  a  widow  ;  but  I'm  afraid  there  is  no  such 
luck  in  store  for  me  !  ' 

"  One  afternoon  she  had  entered  Lieutenant  Renshaw's 
quarters  without  knocking,  and  had  made  herself  verj'- 
much  at  home  by  Constance  Lansing's  side,  while  the  latter 
busied  herself  with  some  fancy  work  which  was  to  be  her 
brother's  Christmas  gift.  Miss  Devereux  had  sat  in  silence 
for  a  moment,  having  hopelessl}'  entangled  several  skeins 
of  'crewel,'  and  not  being  able  as  yet  to  think  of  any- 
thing more  interesting  to  do.  Suddenly  she  broke  forth 
in  speech.  '  I  do  wish  I  were  an  artist,  so  that  I  could 
take  your  picture  as  you  look  now,  with  the  firelight  fall- 
ing on  your  face  and  hair.  Black  is  so  dreadfully  becom- 
ing to  you,  you  know,  with  your  beautiful,  fair  complex- 
ion ;  but  it  isn't  ever>'  one  who  is  lucky  enough  to  be  a 
5* 


106  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

widow,  and  have  an  excuse  for  wearing  mourning,  you 
know. ' 

' '  Constance  Lansing  laughed.  She  had  not  cared  for 
her  husband,  and  therefore  the  tactless  words  found  no 
sensitive  place  in  her  heart.  '  My  husband  died  three 
years  ago,'  she  said,  quietly,  'and  I  no  longer  wear 
mourning.  But  I  am  fond  of  black.  It  suits  my  fancy 
as  well  as  my  complexion.' 

'"Just  think!'  soliloquized  Miss  Dolly.  'How  nice 
it  was  of  him  to  die  while  you  were  so  young  !  as  long  as 
he  had  to  die  at  all,  you  see.  You  don't  look  much  older 
than  I  do  even  now,  and  I  don't  think  of  any  reason  why 
it  should  seem  disrespectful  if  I  called  you  Constance,  do 

you  ? ' 

"  'Certainly  not.  Call  me  so  if  you  like,  and  if  you 
don't  find  the  name  too  hard  to  ' '  come  trippingly  off  your 
tongue. "  I  am  glad  you  take  enough  interest  in  me  to 
wish  to  call  me  by  my  Christian  name. ' 

"  '  Oh,  that,  of  course.  You  know  very  well  you  are 
far  and  away  the  most  interesting  person  on  the  post.' 

"  '  Ah,  you  don't  know  everybody  yet,'  corrected  Mrs. 
Lansing,  shaking  her  chestnut  head  in  a  provoking  way. 
"  'Why,  3-es,  I  do,  long  ago.  At  least  everybody  but 
that  horrid  Mr.  Dacre,  who  shuts  himself  up  like  a  hermit 
in  his  dilapidated  old  quarters  at  the  end  of  the  row,  and 
who  is  going  to  be  court-martialed  next  week.  Ser\-e  him 
right,  too,  I  dare  say.' 

"  Constance  Lansing  s  face  flushed  with  a  redder  glow 
than  the  firelight  had  lent  it.  'You  are  mistaken  in 
thinking  Mr.  Dacre  horrid,  my  dear,'  she  said.  'And  it 
does  not  ser\'e  him  right  to  be  court-martialed  next  week. 
You  shouldn't  talk  upon   subjects   you  know   nothing 

about. ' 

'"Hoity-toity !'  ejaculated    Miss    Dolly,    with    more 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS   GIFT.  107 

force  than  elegance.  '  I  never,  really  !  But  you  don't 
mean  to  say  he  isn't  a  fiend  after  all?  I  might  have 
known  he  was  nice,  though,  just  because  General — no, 
Colonel  Poppleton,  I  mean,  says  such  hateful  things  about 
him  every  time  he  gets  a  chance.' 

"'Your  father  hated  him,  I  know,'  said  Constance. 
'  It  is  through  General  Poppleton  principally  that  all  his 
troubles  have  arisen.' 

"'Don't  call  him  my  father!'  cried  Dolly.  'I'd  be 
ashamed  to  own  him  as  such  ;  and  there  is  no  reason  I 
should,  just  because  mamma  happens  to  have  changed  a 
pretty  name  for  an  ugly  one.  But  you  have  quite  ex- 
cited my  curiosity,  so  do  tell  me  what  this  trouble  of  Mr. 
Dacre's  is.' 

"  '  I  scarcely  know  if  I  ought,'  began  Constance,  doubt- 
fully ;  but  Dolly  interrupted  her  with  a  peremptory-  order 
to  'go  on.'  'Well,  the  beginning  of  it  is  quite  an  old 
stor>'  now, — three  years  old,'  Mrs.  Lansing  said,  retro- 
spectively. '  I  remember  it  w-as  just  before  I  came  here, 
after  my  husband's  death.  The  whole  regiment  had 
newly  arrived  from  Dakota,  and  Mr.  Dacre  had  been 
quartermaster  at  his  old  post.  In  collecting  property  for 
the  sudden  move,  a  few  articles  were  missing,  for  which 
he  could  not  account.  He  knew  they  would  be  found 
afterwards,  and  he  might  have  been  able  to  account  for 
them  even  then  if  he  had  wished  to  implicate  another 
officer,  but  he  did  not.  Of  course  he  was  responsible  for 
them,  at  least  according  to  General  Poppleton.  Finally, 
without  going  so  far  as  to  injure  the  other  officer  in  ques- 
tion, he  proved  in  a  way  satisfactory'  to  everj-body,  ex- 
cept those  prejudiced  against  him  by  his  enemies,  that 
the  responsibility  had  passed  from  his  hands,  and  he 
would  not  pay  for  the  alleged  missing  goods.  He  said 
that  to  do  so  would  be  a  virtual  admission  of  his  care- 


108  TIIK   colonel's   CHRISTMAS   DINNER. 

lessness  or  guilt.     The  story  is— but  I  must  not  tell  you 
that.' 

"  '  Yes,  yes  ;  I  insist !     I  will  know  the  rest.' 

"'The  story  is,  then,  that  there  are  certain  papers 
which  have  been  "pigeon-holed"  by  General  Poppleton 
that  would  throw  a  good  deal  of  light  on  the  matter,  and 
the  blame  would  be  shifted  to  other  shoulders  than  Mr. 
Dacre's.  But,  of  course,  that  can  never  be  proved, 
though  most  people  believe  it ;  and,  in  the  mean  time, 
Mr.  Dacre's  pay  has  been  entirely  stopped  for  the  last 
three  years.  He  has  very  little  to  live  upon,  but  has 
been  braving  it  out,  hoping  for  the  vindication  which  has 
never  come,  and  probably  never  will  now,  as  this  court- 
martial— if  the  charges  are  proved  against  him— may 
very  likely  end  his  army  career.  Poor,  poor  fellow ! 
Such  a  bright,  noble  life  marred  and  wasted  ? '  The  last 
words  she  spoke  as  if  to  herself,  with  a  strange  look  of 
pain  upon  her  fair  face  that  passed  unnoticed  by  self-ab- 
sorbed Dolly. 

"'He  really  isn't  horrid,  then?'  the  latter  queried, 
her  head  on  one  side. 

"'No.' 

'"And  not  old?' 

"  '  About  twenty-nine  or  thirty.' 

"  '  Oh,  that  is  not  so  very  old — for  a  man.  And  is  he 
good-looking  ? ' 

"  '  He  is  called  handsome.  Here  is  his  photograph  you 
may  see,  if  you  like.'  And  going  to  her  davenport,  Con- 
stance  took  from  a  locked  drawer  a  picture  of  a  young 
man  in  uniform, — a  young  man  with  rather  dark,  smil- 
ing eyes,  black  hair,  well-cut  features,  and  an  expression 
that  was  inexplicably  fascinating,  even  beyond  its  evident 
candor  and  intelligence. 

"  Dolly  examined  it  critically.   '  I  like  him,'  she  finally 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  109 

announced  ;  '  and  what  is  more,  I  am — going— to  call  on 
him.' 

"  '  Oh,  Dolly,  impossible  !  '  Constance  cried. 

"  '  You  will  soon  find,  vay  dear,  that  nothing  is  impos- 
sible with  me.  I  am  going  to  do  it,  as  he  is  in  arrest  and 
can't  come  to  see  me,  even  if  he  cared  to  ;  and  I  am  going 
this  very  afternoon.  So,  as  it  is  growing  late,  I  will  say 
au  revoir,  which  is  about  all  the  French  I  lla^■e  brought 
away  from  Madame  La  Pierre's.' 

' '  Constance  looked  at  her  young  visitor  aghast.  '  You 
don't  really  mean  that  you  will  go  alone  to  call  on  a 
strange  man  you  never  saw  before  in  your  life  ?  Why, 
5'our  father  would  never  forgive  you  in  the  world  ! ' ' 

' '  '  Colonel  Poppleton  can  attend  to  his  own  affairs,  and 
I  will  to  mine  ;  but  I  say,  would  you  like  to  have  me 
stop  in  later  and  tell  you  how  I  enjoyed  the  call  ? ' 

"  'Well,  3'es,  if  you  are  determined  to  go,  and  will  not 
take  advice.  Just  for  the  curiosity,  you  know,  I  should 
well  enough  like  to  hear  what  occurred.' 

"There  were  three  chairs  in  the  room,  all  old,  with  a 
suspiciously  palsied  look  about  their  legs,  and  a  depres- 
sion about  their  seats  which  was  apt  to  communicate 
itself  to  the  minds  of  those  unwary  enough  to  trust  them- 
selves to  their  '  tender  mercies. '  There  was  a  table  cov- 
ered by  an  ink-stained  red  cloth,  a  bit  of  carpet  which 
looked  like  a  small  oasis  in  a  desert  of  bare  floor,  a  home- 
made book-case  stored  with  well-worn  volumes,  and  sev- 
eral good  pictures  on  the  walls.  There  were  also  plenty 
of  pipes,  tobacco-bowls,  rifles,  shot-guns,  swords,  stray 
newspapers  and  cobwebs,  and  in  the  midst  of  this  desola- 
tion and  confusion  sat  a  young  man  clad  in  a  uniform 
ver}'  much  the  worse  for  wear.  But  it  was  the  best 
he  had  (although  it  had  seen  two  years  of  nearly  steady 


110  THK  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

service),  and  so  he  had  no  thought  of  taking  time  to 
change  it  before  receiving  the  visitor  who  was  unexpect- 
edly announced.  It  had  happened  that  Mr.  Dacre's 
'striker'  was  blacking  Mr.  Dacre's  much-worn  boots  in 
the  back  hall  when  the  knock  sounded,  and  so  there  was 
some  one  to  answer  the  door  beside  the  master  of  the 
house.  Indeed,  the  latter  might  even  have  invented  some 
pretext  for  excusing  himself  had  not  the  visitor  followed 
the  'striker,'  who  had  announced  her  name,  to  the  door 
of  the  front  room. 

"  '  I  was  so  afraid  you  wouldn't  see  me,  Mr.  Dacre,  if 
3'ou  just  heard  my  name,  and  associated  it  with  Colonel 
Poppleton's,  so  I  thought  I  would  come  straight  in,  and 
you  couldn't  help  yourself,'  said  Dolly  Devereux's  cheer- 
ful voice,  as  Dolly's  pretty  face  appeared  in  the  doorway 
and  lighted  up  the  dismal  room. 

"Dacre  was  electrified.  It  is  possible  that  he  had 
never  received  a  visit  from  an  unchaperoned  young  lady 
before,  and  the  effect  upon  him  was  flatteringly  pro- 
nounced. 

"'Aren't  you  glad  to  see  me?'  artlessly  inquired 
Dolly.  '  I  mean  to  be  very  nice  to  you.  I  have  come  on 
purpose  to  be  nice,  and  to  cheer  you  up  a  little,  because 
people,  and  Mrs.  Lansing  especially,  thought  you  needed 
cheering  up  at  Christmas-time.' 

' '  '  Heaven  knows  I  need  cheering  ! '  Dacre  thought, 
but  he  only  spoke  aloud  the  last  words  of  the  idea  taking 
shape  within  his  mind.  '  So  Mrs.  Lansing  sent  you  to 
me?  That  was  very  kind  in  her.'  And  though  Dolly 
was  pretty,  undeniably  bewitching,  and  dressed  like  a 
grown  young  lady,  he  looked  into  her  eyes,  and  knew 
that  at  all  events  she  had  come  to  him  only  as  a  little 
girl. 

"  '  No,  she  didn't.     She  said  I  musn't  do  anything  of 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  Ill 

the  sort.  But  she  also  said  "  Poor  fellow  !  Such  a  brigrht. 
noble  life  marred  ! ' '  and  she  showed  me  a  photograph  she 
kept  locked  up  in  a  drawer ;  so  I  was  interested,  and 
came  in  spite  of  her,  j-ou  see.  And  I  mean  to  make 
your  Christmas  a  merrier  one  than  you  think  possible 
now.  Oh,  you  don't  know  what  I  can  do  when  I  just 
make  up  my  juind  to  it  !  I  suppose  ' — suddenly — '  you 
quite  understand  who  I  am  ? ' 

"'I  think  so,  Miss  Devereux.  Several  people  who 
have  been  so  kind  as  to  come  and  see  me  in  my  prison 
have  spoken  of  you.  And  of  course  I  appreciate  }'our 
goodness  in  trying  to  give  me  a  little  Christmas  cheer.' 

"  '  And  3^ou  don't  think  I  can  do  it  ? ' 

"  '  You  can,  if  anybody  could.  But  I  fear  I  must  wait 
until  after  next  Wednesday  before  I  can  be  beguiled  into 
a  very  hilarious  mood,  and  then  the  probabilities  are,  you 
know,  that  I  shall  be  less  inclined  that  way  than  ever 
before. ' 

' '  '  Next  Wednesday  ?    Why,  what  happens  then  ?  ' 

"  '  It  is  the  day  set  for  my  court.  You  see,  they  wanted 
to  give  me  a  little  entertainment  for  Christmas-eve.  I 
supposed  3-ou  knew,  or  I  would  not  have  bored  you  by 
the  mention  of  it,  Miss  Devereux.' 

"Dolly  rested  her  rounded  elbow  on  the  ink-stained 
table,  and  laid  her  chin  in  the  hollow  of  her  hand,  while 
she  turned  a  face  full  of  interest  and  sympathy  upon  Mr. 
Dacre. 

"  '  It's  a  burning  shame  to  have  it  Christmas-eve,'  she 
exclaimed,  '  when  j-ou  ought  to  be  thinking  of  hanging 
up  your  stocking.  But  won't  you  please  tell  me  just 
what  you  are  being  tried  for?  Honestly,  I  don't  ask  it 
meaning  to  be  rude. ' 

"Dacre  smiled  in  genuine  amusement.  'Certainly,' 
he  said  ;  '  but  I  doubt  if  you  can  understand.     I  won't  go 


112  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

into  the  matter  of  charges  and  specifications,  of  which 
there  are  a  good  many,  but  tell  you  simply  that  I  am  to 
be  tried  for  an  alleged  gross  neglect  of  duty.  It  is  imper- 
ative that  an  officer  before  leaving  the  garrison  should 
ask  permission  of  the  commanding  officer,  while  the 
lieutenant  must  also  ask  the  same  of  his  captain.  And 
one  officer  of  a  company  must  always  be  on  the  post. 
Now,  I  went  to  town  one  ev^ening,  and  my  captain  also 
was  absent.  A  little  trouble  occurred  among  the  soldiers 
while  we  were  gone,  and  there  was  no  officer  of  the  com- 
pany to  attend  to  it.  When  we  returned.  Captain  dow- 
ser was  called  to  account  by  the  commanding  officer  (who, 
by  the  way,  is  a  great  friend  of  his),  and  said  that  I  had 
never  received  his  permission  to  leave  the  post.  That  I 
understood  perfectly  his  intention  of  going  away  for  the 
evening,  and  knew  that  I  was  expected  to  remain.  I,  of 
course,  asserted  that  I  had  had  Captain  dowser's  permis- 
sion to  absent  myself,  and  my  words  were  construed  as 
disrespectful  to  both  my  superior  officers — so  that  was  an 
additional  offence.  And  thus  it  stands  between  us  at  the 
present  time.' 

"  '  Dear,  dear  ! '  ejaculated  Dolly.  '  How  dreadfully  it 
sounds  !     But,  of  course,  you  are  not  guilty  ? ' 

"'Of  course  I  should  be  apt  to  say  I  was  not,'  re- 
turned Dacre,  beginning  to  laugh  ;  but,  as  he  met  her 
ej^es  beaming  into  his,  a  flood  of  sympathy,  interest  and 
candid  trust,  his  whole  expression  altered  suddenl5\  He 
was  silent  an  instant,  facing  her,  and  then  he  said  :  '  No, 
Miss  Devereux,  I  am  not  guilty  of  the  charges.  I  am  in- 
nocent, though  I  can  scarcely  hope  that  you  will  believe 
me,  and  I  most  assuredly  do  not  expect  my  judges  to  be- 
lieve me  next  week.  I  have  everything  against  me — 
though  I  ought  to  have  grown  used  to  that  in  the  last 
three  years— and  I  think  I  shall  be  convicted  and  sen- 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  113 

tenced.  It  is  my  sole  streak  of  luck  to  be  alone  iu  the 
world  and  have  none  to  be  injured  by  my  fall.  I  have 
only  fought  against  fate  for  the  past  three  years,  and  per- 
haps the  struggle  may  as  well  end  now  as  any  time.' 

"'Yes,  perhaps  it  may,'  said  Dolly,  conscious  that 
Dacre  had  been  speaking  more  to  himself  than  to  her ; 
'  but  there  are  different  ways  of  ending  things,  you  know. 
And  oh,  what  a  life  I  shall  lead  Colonel  Poppleton,  now  I 
am  quite  sure  of  his  being  the  fiend  I  have  thought  him 
all  along  !  He'd  better  be  careful  where  he  sits,  steps,  lies 
down,  and  what  he  eats  and  drinks  after  this,  that's  all  1 
have  to  say,  for  he  has  got  Dolly  Devereux  upon  his  track ! ' 

"It  was  Thursday,  the  iSth  of  December,  when  Miss 
Devereux  paid  her  first  call  of  condolence  to  her  new  pro- 
tege, and  that  call  was  not,  by  any  means,  her  last.  She, 
however,  was  not  as  general  in  her  attentions  towards  her 
various  friends  in  the  garrison,  and  she  saw  far  less  of 
Mrs.  Lansing  than  of  old.  As  she  had  threatened,  she 
devoted  herself  strictly  to  her  mission,  and  the  unfortunate 
General  Poppleton 's  life  was  rendered  a  burden  to  him  by 
salted  coffee,  sugared  soup,  mutilated  newspapers  and 
slippers  internally  '  set  about  with  little  willful '  pins  and 
tacks.  She  also  found  time,  however,  for  a  very  diligent 
study  of  army  regulations — a  book  popularly  supposed  to 
be  either  be3'ond  or  beneath  the  appreciation  of  the  fair  sex 
— and  might  have  been  seen  pondering  deeply  over  the 
rules  set  down  for  the  conducting  of  military'  courts.  Some- 
times she  frowned,  sometimes  she  smiled,  and  on  one  oc- 
casion General  Poppleton  was  alarmed,  but  scarcely  sur- 
prised,,to  find  her  executing  sundry-  eccentric  steps  and  pir- 
ouettes, indicative  of  exultation,  all  about  the  library, 
which  once  had  been  so  sacredlj'  his  own. 

"The  principal  ornament  of  this  library  was  a  large 


114  THE   COI.ONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

and  very  beautiful  mahogany  desk,  which  had  belonged 
(before  Colonel  Poppleton  depleted  his  purse  by  purchas- 
ing it  of  Sypher)  to  a  celebrated  Russian  countess.  It 
was  curiously  carved  and  shaped  to  suit  an  elaborate  sys- 
tem of  secret  drawers  ;  and  this  mysterious  article  of  fur- 
niture possessed  a  degree  of  fascination  for  Dolly  that  was 
positively  painful.  She  became  uneasy  whenever  she  saw 
its  proud  possessor  seated  before  it,  and  yet,  whenever  he 
w^as  there,  she  managed  to  remain  present  also.  One  day 
she  had  ensconced  herself  with  a  book  in  the  bay-window, 
and  the  heavy  curtains  had  fallen  between  her  and  the 
twilight  of  the  room  within.  She  had  become  absorbed 
in  her  volume  (which,  by  the  way,  was  a  naughty  French 
novel,  a  remnant  of  the  general's  bachelor  days,  which 
had  become  stranded  on  that  topmost  of  the  book-case 
shelves,  where  the  cream  of  such  literature  is  generally  to 
be  found),  and  was  not  aware  that  any  one  had  entered 
the  room  until,  hearing  a  sound,  she  peeped  through  the 
aperture  between  the  curtains,  and  saw  her  step-father 
standing  at  the  fireplace,  unconscious  of  the  keen  eyes 
dwelling  upon  his  own. 

"  For  a  moment  he  stood  with  his  hands  behind  him, 
in  front  of  the  fender,  and  there  was  a  perturbed  expres- 
sion on  his  countenance  which  suggested  to  Dolly  an  ex- 
plosion of  the  latest  of  her  plots  against  his  peace.  What 
had  happened  now?  she  asked  herself.  Had  he  found 
the  ammonia  in  his  cologne-bottle  ?  had  he  learned  of  the 
exchange  between  the  ink  and  mucilage?  or  had  he 
chanced  upon  the  onions  in  his  best  civilian  hat  ?  Evi- 
dently, however,  his  emotion  proceeded  from  matter  ex- 
ceeding even  these  in  seriousness  ;  for,  going  to  the  desk, 
he  planted  himself  before  it  as  if  with  a  set  purpose,  and 
//z^w— something  which  Dolly  had  long  been  vaguely 
wishing  for  took  place. 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  115 

He  remained  for  some  time  at  the  desk,  and  the  cuckoo 
inhabiting  the  Swiss  clock  over  the  mantel  had  appeared 
twice,  announcing  the  hour  and  half-hour,  before  he  rose 
and  left  the  room.  As  the  portiere  fell  behind  his  stout 
form,  Dolly  laid  her  book  down  on  the  window-seat. 
Then  she  waited  a  moment,  with  a  hand  upon  the  cur- 
tain. The  front  door  clanged  unmistakably,  and  Miss 
Dolly  ventured  from  her  hiding-place  into  the  fire-lit 
gloom  of  the  empty  room.  She  went  straight  to  the  desk, 
and  seated  herself  in  the  chair  lately  vacated  by  the  gen- 
eral. 'The  first  head  to  the  left,'  she  said,  half  aloud, 
putting  a  plump  httle  finger  upon  the  nose  of  one  in  the 
row  of  small,  carved,  grinning  faces  that  ornamented  a 
panel  on  each  side  of  the  mirror  set  deep  within  the  desk. 
She  pressed  firmly,  with  no  result ;  then  again,  a  trifle  to 
the  right,  and  the  mirror  swung  aside,  revealing  a  set  of 
tiny  drawers,  one  after  another  of  which  she  hurriedly 
opened.  In  the  lowest  lay  several  long,  folded  papers, 
which  Dolly  glanced  over  with  a  rising  color,  and  beneath 
them  was  a  torn  envelope  addressed  to  General  Poppleton, 
Fort  Washington,  and  marked  '  Personal.'  Dolly  looked 
curiou.sly  at  the  postmark,  which  was  half  gone,  and 
would  not  have  been  able  to  make  out  the  word  with  the 
meagre  aid  of  the  five  connected  letters  '  Cheye, '  had  not 
a  sudden  recollection  flashed  into  her  mind.  Oddly 
enough,  she  remembered  hearing  General  Poppleton  say 
the  day  before  that  he  expected  Captain  Clowser  to  return 
from  his  business  trip  to  Cheyenne  in  time  for  Dacre's 
court.  This  word,  perhaps,  then,  might  be  Cheyenne, — 
and  the  letter  ?    Yes,  there  was  a  letter  inside  ! 

"  Now  Dolly,  dark  as  was  the  road  of  depravity  which 
she  had  cheerfully  traveled  during  the  sixteen  summers 
of  her  active  life,  had  not  been  in  the  habit  of  tampering 
with  the  private  correspondence  even  of  her  few  enemies, 


116  TIIK  COLONKL'S  CHRISfTMAS  DINNER. 

and  consequently  she  hesitated  before  inserting  her  thumb 
and  finger  between  the  torn  edges  of  the  envelope.  But 
she  did  it  at  last,  though  the  touch  of  the  paper  sent  a 
tingling  sensation  through  every  nerve  in  her  venture- 
some little  body.  '  I  will  just  glance  at  the  signature,  at 
any  rate,'  she  thought. 

"  '  Rowland  Clowser  '  was  the  name  scrawled  along  the 
foot  of  the  second  page  of  note-paper,  and  just  above  it 
were  some  words  which  Dolly's  eyes  fell  upon  almost— 
not  quite— \n  spite  of  herself.  '  Thanks  for  your  assur- 
ance that  you  will  see  me  through  this  affair,  as  you  did 
through  that  unfortunate  one  three  years  ago.  I  shall 
stick  to  the  line  I  adopted  at  the  first,  and  do  not  see  how 
Dacre  can  have  the  ghost  of  a  chance.  We  will  talk  over 
the  matter  together  before  the  court  meets  Wednesday,  so 
that  no  discrepancies  may  arise.' 

"  Dolly's  face  flushed  crimson  as  she  read,  or  rather  as 
these  words  forced  themselves  and  their  full  meaning 
upon  her  consciousness  ;  and  without  an  instant's  further 
hesitation  she  thrust  the  letter,  envelope  and  bundle  of 
papers  into  her  little  pocket,  already  crowded  wdth  girlish 
and  innocent  belongings.  Then  she  shd  the  tell-tale  mir- 
ror back  into  its  place,  and  the  whole  appearance  of  the 
desk  was  as  before.  Equally  deceiving  was  the  expres- 
sion of  the  pretty  face,  which  by  the  time  its  owner  had 
tied  on  her  hat  and  sallied  forth  in  the  crisp  evening  air 
had  assumed  its  wonted  mask  of  youthful  rectitude  and 
candor.  A  very  superficial  mask  it  was  on  this  occasion, 
however,  concealing  a  storm  of  contending  feelings,  which 
vibrated  between  joy,  triumph  and  remorse. 

"The  last  sensation  she  had  nearly  managed  to  forget 
by  the  time  she  arrived  at  Dacre's  quarters,  and  stood 
knocking  (with  a  heart  which  beat  as  loudly  as  her 
knuckles)  at  the   door.     Dacre  opened  it  himself,   and 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  117 

threw  away  his  lighted  cigarette  when  he  discovered  his 
visitor's  identity. 

"'Isn't  it  rather  late  for  you  to  be  out  alone,  Miss 
Devereux  ? '  he  asked,  when  he  had  greeted  her,  and  be- 
come convinced  that  it  was  her  fixed  intention  to  go  in. 

"  'Oh,  it  might  be  if  it  were  any  one  but  me,'  said 
Dolly,  running  before  him  into  the  house.  '  Rules  that 
apply  to  other  people  don't  to  me,  as  by  this  time  you 
ought  to  have  learned.  I  have  brought  the  Christmas 
present  I  promised  you  at  last.'  Her  voice  trembled  as 
she  spoke,  and  Dacre  instinctively  felt  that  something  un- 
usual had  occurred,  although  the  lamps  were  not  yet 
Hghted,  and  he  could  scarcely  see  her  face. 

"  '  I  didn't  know  you  had  promised  me  one,'  said 
Dacre,  smiling ;  '  but  I  am  sure  I  thank  you  all  the 
same. ' 

"  '  I  promised  myself  to  give  it  you,  at  any  rate,'  Dolly 
amended.  "  From  the  first  day  I  saw  you  I  vowed  to  do 
it  if  I  could.  I  should  have  been  glad  to  spite  the  col- 
onel, even  if  it  had  not  been  that  I  liked  j'ou  so  much.  I 
would  have  done  this  or  anj'thing  else — for  j-ou.  Do  you 
remember  what  daj-  it-  is  ?  ' 

"'Yes,'  returned  Dacre,  slowly  and  reflectively,  star- 
ing through  the  twilight  at  the  silhouette  Dolly's  profile 
formed  against  the  window.  '  Yes ;  it  is  the  twenty- 
third.' 

"  'And  to-morrow  j-our  court  is  to  begin.  Well,  my 
Christmas  gift  reaches  you  just  in  time.' 

"  'You  speak  in  riddles,'  smiled  Dacre,  really  puzzled 
by  the  girl's  strange  look  and  manner.  '  But  I  must 
light  the  lamps,  and  do  your  gift  the  justice  it  deserv-es.' 

"  Dolly  waited  until  the  bare  room  was  illumined,  and 
then  said,  questioningly,  'Why  is  it,  do  you  suppose, 
Mr.  Dacre,  that  people  who  have  done  something  wicked 


118  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

don't  destroy  all  evidence  against  themselves,  but  keep 
enough  put  away  secretly  to  tell  the  whole  history  of  their 
crime  ?  ' 

"  '  All  that  smacks  a  good  deal  of  the  ubiquitous  dime- 
novel,'  said  Dacre,  '  and  it  is  more  than  I  can  do  to  ex- 
plain it ;  but  I  believe  it  is  generally  admitted  to  be  the 
case,  queer  as  it  seems.  However,  that  has  nothing  to  do 
with  my  Christmas  gift,  I  suppose.' 

"  'Judge  for  j'ourself,'  cried  Doll}',  with  pretended  non- 
chalance, as  she  handed  Dacre  a  bundle  of  folded  papers 
and  the  letter  she  had  replaced  in  the  envelope.  For  a 
moment  he  stood  fingering  them  over  in  surprised  si- 
lence ;  then  his  whole  expression  altered  strangely,  and 
his  face  flushed  and  paled. 

' '  '  What  are  these  papers,  and  how  did  ^-ou  come  by 
them  ?  '  he  questioned,  in  a  strained,  hard  voice. 

"  Dolly  became  a  little  frightened,  but  bravel}-  stood 
her  ground.  '  I  watched  my  chance,  and  when  I  saw 
Colonel  Poppleton  put  a  letter  in  a  secret  drawer  of  his 
desk  this  afternoon,  I  waited  till  he  was  gone,  and  took  it 
out  with  the  rest  of  the  papers  that  were  there.  Then  I 
—then ' 

' '  '  Then  what  ?  '  very  sternly. 

"  '  I— read  them,  and  saw  that,  just  as  I  suspected,  they 
referred  to  you, — to  j^our  trouble  three  years  ago,  which 
Constance  told  me  of,  and  also  to  this  very  court, — at 
least  the  letter  does  ;  and,  oh,  I  was  so  glad ! '  She 
looked  up  at  him  half  furtively,  half  appealingly,  and  was 
frightened  at  his  face.  '  Oh,  Mr.  Dacre  ! '  she  cried, 
'  don't  be  hateful  to  me  about  it !  I  can't  stand  it  if  you 
are,  after  all  I  have  gone  through  for  3'our  sake.  Don't 
scold  me,  but  just  think  what  you  are  saved  from.  There 
are  the  papers  which  fix  all  the  responsibility  of  the  loss 
three  years  ago  upon  Captain  Clowser,  and  there  is  the 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  119 

letter  which  can  prove  to  anybody  yowx  innocence  in  the 
case  that  comes  up  to-morrow.  You  will  be  a  free  man 
again  ;  the  burden  will  be  lifted  that  you  have  borne  and 
fretted  under  for  so  long  ! ' 

"'Good  God!  that  an  innocent-faced  child  like  you 
should  prove  such  a  temptress !  '  he  exclaimed,  staring  at 
her  with  a  species  of  horror  growing  in  his  eyes.  '  Do 
you  expect  me  to  stoop  to  the  basest  dishonor  in  order  to 
vindicate  myself  in  the  eyes  of  my  world?  I  would 
rather  be  dismissed  the  service  to-morrow,  with  an  undy- 
ing stain  attached  to  nxx  name,  than  so  much  as  draw 
that  letter  from  its  envelope,  or  remove  the  band  that 
holds  those  papers  together.  I  owe  neither  of  the  men 
you  speak  of  any  gratitude,  but  I  would  take  no  advan- 
tage of  them  in  the  dark.  If  their  honor  lay  in  my  hands, 
I  would  give  it  back  to  them  without  exposing  one  stain, 
and  fight  my  own  battle  in  my  own  way,  stand  or  fall.' 

"  He  had  spoken  in  a  loud,  excited  tone,  but  his  voice 
dropped  as  he  concluded,  and  very  quietly  he  laid  the 
papers  down  on  the  table.  '  I  ought  not  ha\'e  spoken  to 
you  so,'  he  said,  turning  to  Dolly  again  with  the  expres- 
sion which  had  frightened  her  fading  from  his  ej-es,  and 
a  strangel}'  soft  and  pleasant  light  dawning  there  instead. 
*  I  ought  to  have  remembered  your  youth  and  inexperi- 
ence, and  how  differently  such  matters  must  look  to  a 
child  like  you  from  what  the^'  appear  to  a  man.  You 
meant  to  ser\'e  me.  You  risked  a  great  deal  for  me,  and 
— I  thank  yon,  but  you  did  not  know  what  you  were  do- 
ing, and  it  remains  with  me  to  think  for  us  both.  Take 
those  papers  back — I  can't  touch  them  again  :  they  seem 
to  bum  me — and  put  them  where  you  found  them.  No 
one  shall  ever  know  of  your  Christmas  gift,  child,  except 
yourself  and  me.' 

"  'Oh,  Mr.  Dacre  ! '  Dolly  cried,   '  j-ou  have  se  disap- 


120  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

pointed  me  !  I  can  hardly  bear  it.  To  think  I  have 
done  all  this  for  you,  and  5'ou  will  not  accept  it,  but  only 
blame,  and — and  perhaps  hate  me  for  it !  I  wanted  so  to 
help  you,  and  now — you  must  suffer,  and  I  can  do  noth- 
ing for  you  an}'  more.'  As  she  spoke  bright  tears  rose 
and  glistened  in  her  eyes,  then  rolled  unrestrained  over 
her  cheeks. 

"  Dacre  went  to  her  and  took  her  hand  impulsively. 
*  Don't  fancy  for  a  moment  that  I  could  hate  you,'  he 
said.  '  What  I  feel  for  you  is  as  far  as  possible  removed 
from  hate.  You  have  been  a  very  dear  little  friend  to  a 
lonely  fellow  who  has  few  real  friendships  to  call  his  own. 
But  I  think,  when  you  reflect,  you  would  rather  have  me 
suffer  than  do  a  wrong,  or  even  voluntarilj^  profit  b}'  one 
already  done.  And  I  shall  never  forget  how  you  have 
tried  to  serve  me.' 

"  'There  is  j^et  one  more  thing  I  may  do,'  murmured 
Dolly,  through  her  tears. 

//.     The  Court-Martial . 

As  described  in  a  letter  from  Miss  D0II5'  Devereux  to 
her  friend  Miss  Nettie  Ainsworth. 

"'Darling  Netty, — When  I  wrote  you  last  I  was 
very  low  in  my  mind.  I  scarcely  know  how  to  define  my 
frame  now,  "but  there  is  one  thing,  at  any  rate,  I  can  tell 
YOVi.  I  don't  see  why  people  are  always  taking  a  woman 
to  represent  an  angel  in  pictures  and  stories.  /  think 
now  it  ought  to  be  a  man,  though,  do  yovi  know,  Nettj^ 
men  are  awfully  aggravating  at  times, — the  very  best  of 
them?  Thej'  don't  care  if  they  break  a  person's  heart! 
But  I  must  not  stop  to  discuss  questions  xn  philosophy,  as 
I  am  sure  you  are  pining  to  hear  the  conclusion  of  the  in- 
teresting story  begun  in  my  last.     It  couldn't  have  been 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  121 

more  romantic  if  it  had  been  all  a  fib  instead  of  real  hon- 
est truth,  could  it  ?  and  I  believe  you  will  say  so,  more 
than  ever,  when  you  learu  the  rest.  Well,  I  wrote  j-ou 
on  the  twenty-third,  the  night  Mr.  Dacre  refused  to  do 
what  I  wanted  him  to,  and  his  court  was  set  for  the  next 
day  at  eleven  o'clock.  I  was  desperate.  I  didn't  care 
what  I  did.  You  know  I  had  been  reading  all  about  that 
sort  of  thing  in  the  army  regulations  ijsiich  a  stupid  book, 
my  dear  !j,  and  I  was  confident  there  was  only  one  thing 
for  me  to  do,  if  I  did  anything  more  at  all.  It  was  an 
awful  risk,  too,  and  the  bare  idea  of  it  gave  me  a  feeling 
like  little  frizzles  up  and  down  my  spine,  while  I  didn't 
even  know  if  Mr.  Dacre,  with  his  queer  fancies  about 
proprieties,  would  thank  me  for  it ;  but  I  wouldn't  stop 
to  think  of  that.  The  court-room  where  he  was  to  be 
tried  was  in  a  big  house  called  the  ' '  headquarters  build- 
ing," and  the  hospital  is  in  the  same  place.  So  I  made 
an  errand  to  get  some  medicine,  and  then  slipped  up  to 
the  court-room,  which  I  had  been  in  one  day  with  an 
officer,  just  to  take  a  peep.  It  was  xoxy  early,  and  ho  one 
was  there  yet,  which  was  just  what  I  wanted,  but  my 
heart  was  beating  so  I  could  hardly  think.  I  did  what  I 
had  come  for  (what  that  was  I  will  tell  you  by  and  by), 
and  then  I  had  meant  to  go  out  and  come  back  again  to 
sit  in  the  room  during  the  trial.  Lieutenant  Dean  had 
promised  to  bring  me,  if  I  would  wear  a  veil.  But,  just 
as  I  was  ready  to  run,  I  heard  some  one  outside  the  door, 
and  I  had  only  time  to  rush  into  a  closet  at  the  corner  of 
the  room  without  being  seen,  which  would  have  spoiled 
it  all.  There  were  shelves  full  of  books  and  papers  in  the 
closet,  and  I  had  to  crouch  down  under  them,  which 
cramped  me  dreadfully,  and,  besides,  I  was  afraid  I 
should  smother  before  I  could  get  out.  But  even  that 
would  be  better  than  having  any  one  come  in  upon  me 
6 


122  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

where  I  was.  I  was  nearly  frightened  to  death,  too,  on 
account  of  spiders  and  other  creeping  things  I  quite  knew 
must  be  there.  My  head  was  high  enough  to  let  me  peep 
through  the  key-hole,  luckily,  and  pretty  soon  the  '  court ' 
began  to  come  in.  I  wondered  what  time  it  was,  but  the 
clock  was  where  I  could  not  see  it,  and  nobody  even 
glanced  towards  it,  so  they  must  have  felt  very  certain  it 
was  the  correct  hour  to  meet.  The  officers  were  all  in  full 
dress,  and  appeared  quite  solemn  and  grand.  I  could  see 
Mr.  Dacre,  and  his  face  was  white,  but  he  was  perfectly 
composed,  and  had  a  brave  look  in  his  eyes  that  made 
my  heart  beat  fast.  A  colonel  from  another  post  was 
president  of  the  court,  and  I  thought  he  seemed  kind 
and  just— so  different  from  Colonel  Poppleton  and 
Captain  Clowser,  who  came  in  as  witnesses,  and  looked 
(at  least,  to  me,  who  knew  all)  ready  to  drop  with 
shame  and  guiltiness.  By  the  way,  I  had  had  the  fore- 
thought to  empty  the  red  pepper-box  into  the  colonel's 
pocket-handkerchief  before  leaving  home,  so  that  when 
he  came  to  use  it  in  the  court-room  he  had  a  really  terri- 
ble time,  and  I  was  afraid  they  would  hear  me  laughing 
in  the  closet ;  but  perhaps  they  thought  it  was  a  mouse. 
Well,  the  trial  went  on,  and  every  word  was  distinctly 
audible  to  me.  I  felt  like  applauding,  and  shouting, 
"  Hear,  hear  !"  when  Mr.  Dacre  plead  "not  guilty,"  in 
a  firm  voice  ;  and  then  again  I  could  hardly  help  running 
out  to  choke  Colonel  Poppleton  and  Captain  Clowser 
when  they  told  the  pack  of  falsehoods  they  had  skillfully 
gotten  up.  Poor  Mr.  Dacre  had  no  witness  on  his  side 
at  all.  His  case  had  to  stand  on  his  word  alone,  and  of 
course  that  could  not  amount  to  much  in  the  eyes  of  the 
court  against  that  of  his  captain  and  the  commanding 
officer  of  his  post.  It  was  an  exciting  trial,  and  the  court 
did  not  adjourn  at  lunch-time,  but  went  straight  on  with 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  123 

its  proceedings.  Once  the  court  was  "cleared,"  as 
they  called  it,  when  even  the  prisoner  had  to  go  out,  and 
then  the  members  talked  about  Mr.  Dacre  in  a  perfectly 
horrid  way.  No  one  but  the  president  had  a  good  word 
to  say  for  him.  So,  finally,  when  all  was  done,  and  the 
court  was  "cleared  for  deliberation"  for  the  last  time,  I 
felt  quite  prepared  for  what  would  come.  They  took  a 
vote,  begiiniing  at  the  junior  member,  and  every  man 
(even  that  nice,  kind-looking  president)  said  "Guilty," 
without  pausing  for  a  moment's  thought.  Then  they 
talked  awhile,  and  presently  each  one  wrote  out  on  a 
piece  of  paper  what  in  his  opinion  the  sentence  ought  to 
be.  At  last  one  was  decided  on,  w^hich  seemed  to  please 
ever>^body  in  the  court,  after  they  had  discussed  the  fact 
of  the  prisoner's  having  alread)-  been  in  disgrace  with  the 
authorities  during  the  last  three  years.  He  was  to  be 
dismissed  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  the  cold, 
cruel  words  made  my  blood  boil  within  me  when  I  re- 
membered the  uselessness  and  injustice  of  it  all.  But 
there  was  still  hope,  and  now  was  the  time  to  prove  the 
success  of  what  Madame  La  Pierre  would  call  my  coup 
d'etat. 

"  'Just  as  the  president  finished  speaking,  a  bugle-call 
blew  outside  the  building.  It  was  a  call  that  ever>'  one 
there  knew  ver}'  well  ;  and  at  Fort  Washington  it  was  al- 
ways sounded  at  half-past  three.  The  officers  looked  sur- 
J)rised  to  hear  it,  and  those  I  could  see  glanced  up  towards 
the  clock.  Then  I  saw  several  take  out  their  watches 
and  stare  at  them. 

"'  "Mr.  President,"  said  one  of  the  elder  members, 
"this  clock  is  much  oo  slow.  We  have  exceeded  the 
hour  prescribed  for  the  court,  and  the  proceedings  there- 
fore become  illegal." 

' '  '  The  president  pulled  out  his  watch  and  glanced  at 


124  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

it,  as  though  he  could  not  believe  the  evidence  of  his  own 
eyes. 

"  '  "  This  has  been  done  purposely,"  he  said,  looking  so 
very  solemn  and  angry  that  I  began  to  tremble  and  quake. 
'  This  clock  has  evidently  been  set  back  by  some  person 
interested.  It  could  never  have  so  suddenl}'  lost  so  much 
time  itself." 

"'"That,  however,  does  not  alter  the  fact  that  this 
trial  will  go  for  nothing,  as  all  action  taken  after  three 
o'clock,  according  to  the  order  for  the  court,  becomes  ille- 
gal," replied  the  other  man.  "  And  no  officer  can  be  tried 
twice  upon  the  same  charges." 

"  '  Every  one  looked  exceedingly  blank,  and  I  was  so 
happy  I  forgot  the  cramps  in  my  limbs  that  had  come  from 
so  long  sitting  still. 

"  'Just  under  the  president's  nose,  on  the  big  table 
around  which  they  all  sat,  lay  a  volume  of  army  regula- 
tions. Nobody  knew  better  than  I  that  it  was  there.  He 
picked  it  up,  almost  as  though  I  had  mesmerized  him  into 
doing  it,  opened  it  where  a  lot  of  papers  were  put  in  as  if 
for  a  mark — and  of  course  he  had  to  glance  at  the  papers. 
They  had  been  arranged  with  the  writing  outside,  so  he 
Couldn't  help  seeing  certain  words,  if  he  tried,  and  he 
couldiVt  see  immediately  to  whom  they  belonged.  That 
moment  was  the  most  tr3-ing  one  for  me.  I  clinched  my 
hails  into  the  palms  of  my  hands  till  they  cut  me,  and  the 
pain  was  almost  a  relief.  But,  oh,  Netty  !  it  all  came 
right,  and  just  as  I  had  hoped  and  prayed,  but  hardly 
dared  to  think  it  would.  When  the  president  had  read  so 
far,  he  was  bound  to  read  more,  and  it  was  not  till  after 
he  had  learned  too  much  to  ignore  that  he  saw  the  papers 
were  private  ones  of  Colonel  Poppleton's.  At  least  I  sup- 
pose that  must  have  been  the  way,  for  he  started  so  that 
every  one  could  notice  it,  and  kept  on  reading,  while  his 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS  GIFT.  125 

face  grew  ven-  stem  and  grim.  Presently  he  said  he  had 
just  made  a  discover}'  that  had  a  grave  bearing  on  the 
case  in  hand,  and  which  it  became  his  verj-  painful  duty 
to  take  action  upon.  Then  he  stated  what  he  had  found, 
and  even  told  about  the  papers  relating  to  the  trouble 
three  j-ears  ago.  Of  course  it  would  change  matters 
completely,  he  went  on,  and  he  would  be  obliged  to  lay 
the  affair  before  the  reviewing  authority.  It  would  be 
ver>'  serious  for  some  persons  concerned,  but  it  was  for^ 
tunate  for  Mr.  Dacre  that  this  had  taken  place  in  the  nick 
of  time. 

"  'Well,  that  was  virtually  the  end  for  that  day  ;  and 
when  the  members  of  the  court  at  last  left  the  room,  I 
slipped  out  of  m}-  prison,  feeling  perfecth'  happy,  but  so 
stiff  and  cramped  I  could  scarcely  crawl.  I  reached 
home  without  being  seen,  but,  much  as  I  longed  to,  I 
dared  not  go  to  Mr.  Dacre  with  the  blissful  tidings  of 
what  had  occurred.  I  thought  it  would  be  better  to  let 
him  find  it  out  in  some  other  way.  I  went  to  Constance, 
though,  that  same  evening,  when  I  found  that  I  was  pos- 
itively expiring  for  a  confidante.  But,  would  you  believe 
it?  she  was  just  as  unsatisfactory'  as  she  could  be.  In- 
stead of  hugging  and  kissing  and  crj'ing  over  me,  she 
showed  a  feeling  of  jealousy  on  account  of  my  success. 
She  was  evidently  ver}'  low  in  her  mind  when  I  went  to 
call,  and  when  I  told  her  the  news,  she  would  scarcely 
credit  it  at  first.  When  she  did  finally,  she'  turned 
ghastly  pale,  and  looked  ready  to  faint.  And  what  do 
you  suppose  she  said?  "  And  you  have  been  able  to  do 
all  this  for  him — you,  a  child,  almost  a  stranger,  while  I 
— I  have  done  nothing  ?  " 

"  '  I  let  her  see  that  I  was  hurt,  and  couldn't  resist  the 
temptation  of  remarking  that,  at  any  rate,  Mr.  Dacre 
would  appreciate  what  I  had  done,  as  he  had  already  in- 


126  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

formed  me  he  valued  my  friendship.  And  do  you  know, 
Netty,  when  he  said  that,  I  wonder  if  he  didn't  mean 
something  more  ?  I  am  sixteen,  you  remember,  and  my 
dresses  are  quite  to  the  floor. 

"  '  Now  I  must  close,  and  shall  add  a  postscript,  with 
further  developments,  in  a  few  days. 

"  *  P.S. — It  is  too  bad  I  have  allowed  such  an  age  to 
go  by  without  finishing  my  narrative,  Netty,  but  the 
truth  is  the  times  have  been  so  exciting  I  have  not  felt 
able  to  write  satisfactorily.  This  post  has  been  exactly 
like  a  wasp's  nest,  and  at  home  things  have  been  espe- 
cially queer.  I  have  found  out,  however,  in  spite  of  all 
the  mysteries,  that  Colonel  Poppleton  is  going  to  resign, 
and  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  Captain  Clowser  did  the  same. 
The  inspector-general  of  the  department  has  been  at  the 
house  closeted  with  the  colonel  several  times,  and  on  each 
occasion  the  latter  would  come  out  after  the  inter\dew 
with  a  smile  the  reverse  of  sweet.  As  for  me,  I  am  in 
awful  disgrace,  though  of  course  no  one  knows  positively 
what  share  I  had  in  the  affair  ;  and  I  am  to  be  sent  away 
to  a  horrible  school  somewhere  in  Boston  (the  very  most 
rigid  in  that  dreadful  strait-laced  place)  I  am  informed. 
I  shall  sigh  for  Madame  La  Pierre's  as  for  the  "  flesh-pots 
of  Egypt,"  I'm  afraid.  It  is  now  the  twenty-fifth  of  Jan- 
uary, and  I  am  expected  to  be  packed  off  almost  any  day. 
I  dare  say  3'ou  are  wondering  at  m}'  running  on  in  this 
fashion  without  a  word  of  Mr.  Dacre  and  my  relations 
with  him.  But,  oh,  Netty !  I  cayinot  bring  myself  to 
write  at  length  on  that  subject.  Boxes  and  boxes  of 
candy  could  not  make  up  to  me  for  the  disappointment 
he  has  caused  me  to  endure.  Not  that  he  was  unkind, 
or  reproached  me  for  what  I  had  done.  Oh,  no  ;  when  I 
saw  him  he  thanked  me  in  beautiful  words  almost  as  nice 
as  men  use  in  novels,  and  even  kissed  my  hand  as  though 


DACRE'S  CHRISTMAS  GI^T.  127 

I  had  been  a  queen.  He  said,  whether  or  not  he  ap- 
proved the  action  I  had  taken,  and  it  was  too  late  to  speak 
of  that,  he  felt  more  grateful  than  he  could  ever  express. 
I  had  given  him  back  something  far  dearer  to  him  than 
life — his  good  name  — and  now,  when  by  an  act  of 
Congress  he  should  be  enabled  again  to  draw  his  pay 
(thanks  to  me),  he  would  beg  leave  to  present  me  with 
the  finest  diamond  ring  he  could  find  at  Tiffany's,  just 
to  remind  me  continually  of  the  gratitude  which  his 
best  words  would  be  too  poor  ever  to  make  me  under- 
stand. 

"  'That  was  all  very  lovely,  of  course,  but  I  expected 
it  to  be  only  a  preface  to  something  more  ;  and,  would 
you  believe  it,  Netty  ?  it  zcasJi't  that  in  the  least. 

"'It  is  only  a  month  since  Christmas,  and  since  he 
came  out  of  arrest,  but  he  has  been  at  Constance  Lan- 
sing's every  day  regularly,  and  now  they  are  said  to  be 
engaged.  I  am  even  informed  that  he  has  been  in  love 
with  her  ever  since  they  first  met,  though  he  would  not 
ask  her  to  many  him  on  account  of  his  misfortunes  ;  but 
that,  at  all  events,  for  my  own  vanity's  sake,  I  shall  try- 
hot  to  believe.  I  shall  endeaver  to  think  he  realh*  did 
care  for  me,  but  on  account  of  Colonel  Poppleton  did  not 
dare  "  ask  for  my  hand,"  as  the  people  say  in  stor>'- 
books.  And  oh,  Xetty  !  he  is  vay  first  love,  except  Jim- 
my Allen  and  Tom  Hastings,  whom  now  I  scorn  to  take 
into  account.  Constance  is  very  friendly  of  late,  and  can 
hardly  pet  me  enough,  but  I  do  not  care  to  go  to  her 
house  as  often  as  I  used.  And,  Netty,  I  wish  you  would 
advise  me.  If  you  were  in  my  place  would  you  take  his 
diamond  ring.'  " 

The  applause  of  the  evening  followed  this  fair  lady's 
gracious  effort,  and  then  no  man  was  given  the  floor  until 
' '  Dot, "  "  Dora, "  "  Miss  Grace, ' '  had  been  appealed  to  by 


128  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

every  voice  at  the  table.     It  was  only  after  a  world  of 
coaxing  that  "  The  Colonel's  Daughter  "  told  her  tale  : 


THE  COLONEL'S  DAUGHTER. 

"  In  my  class  at  Vassar  there  were  two  girls — cousins, 
and  inseparable  companions  ;  one  was  very  fair,  and  was 
the  daughter  of  General  Lennox  ;  the  other  was  a  very 
brilliant  brunette,  with  high  cheek  bones  and  small,  snap- 
ping black  eyes.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Colonel  Ivcn- 
nox,  a  younger  brother  of  the  General,  but  her  mother 
was  a  half-breed  Indian.  Both  girls  bore  the  strange 
name  of  Kiamush. 

"I  spent  the  Christmas  holidays  of  my  Senior  year 
with  them,  for  their  parents  were  in  New  York  at  the 
time,  and  I  learned  all  the  particulars  of  the  strange  ro- 
mance which  invested  their  mothers'  lives. 

"  It  seems  just  like  a  story,  and  if  the  parties  were  not 
living  I  think  I  would  embellish  it  a  little  and  send  it  to 
some  magazine.  I  will  tell  it  now,  with  the  versions  I 
learned  from  the  different  members  of  the  family  all 
blended  into  one,  so  as  to  make  it  a  connected  tale  : 

"  Many  years  ago,  when  the  West  was  a  desolate  region, 
with  but  few  settlements,  and  mainly  peopled  by  the  In- 
dians, who  were  far  from  friendly  towards  the  whites, 
Colonel  Hartwell's  regiment  was  stationed  at  one  of  our 
distant  forts — a  place  surrounded  with  the  beauties  of  na- 
ture, but  in  entire  exile  from  any  places  of  importance. 
He  brought  his  young  bride  with  him — a  beautiful  girl 
of  eighteen,  with  blue  eyes  and  a  profusion  of  golden 
curls — and,  as  there  w^ere  only  a  few  other  ladies  in  the 
camp,  she  was  naturally  the  belle  of  the  regiment.     Her 


THE  colonel's  DAUGHTER.         129 

husband  idolized  lier,  and  was  verj-  proud  of  the  admira- 
tion she  commauded, 

"  After  two  years  of  absolute  happiness,  notwithstand- 
ing the  cold  and  privations  of  two  severe  winters,  and 
several  skirmishes  with  the  Indians,  in  which  the  Fort  had 
been  attacked,  the  Colonel's  wife  died,  leaving  as  a  leg- 
acy to  her  husband  a  little,  blue-eyed  daughter,  and  the 
remembrance  of  her  owm  sweet  life. 

"  She  had  requested  that  the  baby  be  called  Kiamush, 
after  her  Indian  servant,  wdiom  she  had  deemed  perfectly 
faithful,  and  who  had  lived  with  her  from  the  day  she 
came  to  the  Fort,  and  to  whose  care  she  must  now  entrust  • 
her  little  one.  The  chaplain  had  christened  the  child  at 
the  bed-side  of  the  dying  mother.  With  her  own  hands 
Mrs.  Hartwell  placed  around  her  little  daughter's  neck  a 
string  of  gold  beads,  which  her  own  mother  had  put  upon 
her  when  she  was  a  baby.  The  chain  was  so  long  that  it 
wound  twice  around  the  little  slender  throat. 

"  The  Colonel  was  so  broken  down  at  his  wife's  death 
that  he  was  never  willing  to  see  the  bab)',  whose  very  ex- 
istence he  hated.  She  was  wholly  left  to  the  care  of  the 
Indian  nurse,  and  the  people  of  the  regiment  almost  never 
saw  her.  The  winters  were  so  cold  and  the  accommoda- 
tions so  poor,  that  the  officers'  wives  seldom  attempted  to 
remain  a  second  winter  in  the  desolate  region,  but  betook 
themselves  to  the  East  before  another  set  in.  Several 
years  elapsed,  and  the  Colonel  still  refused  to  take  any 
notice  of  his  child,  who  the  nurse  always  assured  him  was 
well  and  happy. 

' '  After  as  long  as  furlough  as  was  allowable  it  was 
announced  at  the  Fort  one  day  that  the  Colonel  was  about 
to  return,  and  that  he  would  not  come  alone.  His  rooms 
were  arranged,  the  grim  Indian  nurse  was  seen  going 
about  looking  more  severe  and  stoical  than  ever,  and  the 
6* 


loO  THE  COLONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

little  six-year  old  child,  who  had  been  in  such  seclusion, 
was  seen  at  a  window  or  door  peeping  out,  but  was  al- 
ways summarily  jerked  back  by  her  nurse.  It  was  cur- 
rent at  the  Fort  that  Colonel  Hartwell's  daughter  was 
lacking  mentally,  and  therefore  had  been  kept  all  these 
years  in  the  background,  and  many  pitied  the  new  bride 
for  the  responsibility  she  must  assume. 

"In  an  old  lumbering  stage  plying  along  the  prairie 
towards  the  encampment  came  the  Colonel  again,  bring- 
ing a  bride  to  the  Fort,  which  had  been  much  improved 
the  last  year  or  two. 

"  '  My  dear,'  he  said  to  his  wife,  as  familiar  landmarks 
showed  him  that  they  were  not  far  from  their  destination, 
'  I  don't  know  what  you  can  do  with  Kiamush.  I  really 
know  nothing  personally  of  my  child  except  that  she  is 
well  and  her  nurse  says  happy. ' 

"'Do  you  mean,  Henry,'  asked  his  bride,  'that  you 
willingly  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  her?  I  supposed 
your  regimental  duties  were  what  had  prevented  your 
seeing  more  of  her.' 

"  '  I  have  never  held  her  in  my  arms  or  even  kissed  her 
since  her  mother  died,'  he  answered,  gloomily.  'And  I 
seldom  see  her  ;  she  is  frightfully  tanned  and  does  not 
look  like  her  mother  or  me.  I  fear  you  will  have  a  very 
hard  time  wdth  her  and  that  crotchety  old  nurse.' 

' '  '  Never  fear,  Henry,  I  have  yet  to  see  the  child  whose 
love  I  couldn't  win.' 

"  '  Or  the  grown  person  either,'  said  the  bridegroom, 
smiling ;  for  a  weight  was  lifted  from  his  shoulders  at 
the  thought  of  such  a  guardian  for  his  little  neglected 
girl. 

' '  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  the  stage  rumbled 
up  to  the  hotel  which  served  as  post-office  and  variety 
store  as  well.     Several  of  the  officers  were  there  to  meet 


THE  colonel's  DAUGHTER.         131 

their  Colonel  and  convey  him  with  honor  to  the  barracks, 
where  the  few  ladies  gladly  welcomed  the  new  addition 
to  their  circle,  and  with  feminine  accuracy  instantly  de- 
cided her  age,  and  passed  judgment  upon  her  personal 
appearance. 

"  Colonel  Hartwell  did  not  intend  that  his  wife  should 
go  to  the  nursery  that  night,  but  she  insisted,  though  the 
old  nurse  grumbled  and  said  that  the  child  was  asleep. 
Mrs.  Hartwell,  however,  gained  her  point,  as  she  always 
did,  and  together  the  father,  who  had  so  long  neglected 
his  child,  and  the  new  mother,  who  yearned  over  the  lit- 
tle one,  and  longed  to  fill  a  mother's  place  to  her,  stood, 
candle  in  hand,  beside  the  little  bed. 

"  Long  the  Colonel  gazed  at  the  round,  brown  face,  for 
she  was  apparently  very  much  tanned.  Her  crop  of 
short,  dark  hair  was  so  unlike  her  mother's  golden  locks. 

"  '  You  see,  dear,'  he  said,  '  there  is  no  resemblance  to 
her  mother  ;  I  am  afraid  she  is  going  to  look  like  me.' 

' '  '  We  will  hope  she  will  resemble  both  of  her  parents 
in  character,'  said  the  bride,  a  trifle  disappointed  perhaps 
herself. 

"The  next  day  after  breakfast  the  little  Kiamush  was 
brought  to  their  room  to  assist  at  the  unpacking  and  get 
acquainted.  She  looked  sullen  and  obstinate,  and  re- 
fused to  go  to  either  her  father  or  mother.  But  it  was 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  for  she  had  lived  six  years  of  piti- 
ful isolation,  the  nurse  always  having  refused  to  let  her 
play  with  the  other  children  at  the  Fort. 

"  Mrs.  Hartwell  coaxed  her  to  come,  and  held  out  a 
gaily-dressed  doll  and  a  bright  picture-book,  but  in  vain. 
She  then  decided  to  go  on  guietly  with  the  unpacking 
and  see  if,  after  becoming  used  to  their  appearance,  the 
shyness  would  not  wear  off. 

"  On  the  bureau  lay  a  large  silk  handkerchief,  with  a 


132  THE  COLONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

gay  border,  and  a  little  coral  necklace  ;  the  latter  was  in- 
tended for  Kiamush. 

"  Thinking  that  they  were  not  watching  her,  she  crept 
stealthily  towards  the  coveted  articles,  looking  behind  her 
to  see  if  she  were  watched.  Feeling  that  she  was  still 
unobser\'ed,  she  proceeded  to  array  herself.  The  kerchief 
she  put  square  over  her  shoulders,  knotting  the  corners 
in  front ;  being  unable  to  unclasp  the  necklace,  she 
toasted  it  around  her  wrist.  Then  seeing  some  feathers 
in  a  box,  she  tried  to  arrange  them  in  her  short  hair,  tr^'- 
ing  the  effect  in  the  mirror,  and  muttering  some  words  in 
the  dialect  of  the  Ojibways,  although  she  could  talk  Eng- 
lish after  a  fashion. 

"Suddenly  she  saw  that  she  was  watched,  and  a  defiant 
expression  crept  over  her  face.  But  her  new  mother  said 
gently  :  '  That  necklace  is  for  you,  dear,  but  it  is  meant 
to  go  around  your  little  neck  ;  let  me  unclasp  it.' 

"  Kiamush  looked  at  her  distrustfully,  but  the  pleasant 
smile  reassured  her,  and  she  stood  gently  while  the  chain 
was  arranged. 

"  From  the  box  which  the  Colonel  was  unpacking  he 
had  taken  a  violin  and  bow  and  laid  them  on  the  table. 
The  instant  his  back  was  turned  the  child  had  the  bow 
and  tried  to  bend  it  into  a  shape  suitable  for  an  '  archer 
bold,'  and  looked  about,  as  if  seeking  for  an  arrow,  but 
finding  none,  cast  it  aside. 

"  Finally  she  took  the  doll,  petted  it,  and,  rocking  it  to 
and  fro,  crooned  a  little  lullaby  over  it :  '  Ewa-yea,  Ewa- 
yea.'  She  then  started  for  the  door,  calling  her  nurse, 
and  evidently  eager  to  show  her  her  treasures. 

"  Leaving  her  safe  with  her  nurse,  the  Colonel  returned 
to  his  wife  ;  '  Ida,'  he  .said,  '  I  have  only  myself  to  blame 
that  Ki  is  .so  like  a  little  savage. ' 

"  '  Living  only  with  an  Indian,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 


THE  colonel's  DAUGHTER.         133 

at,'  she  answered  ;  '  and  I  can  do  but  little  with  her  until 
I  win  her  love;  but  it  shall  be  won,'  she  added  with 
energ}-. 

' '  Weeks  elapsed,  and  Mrs.  Hartwell  found  that  her 
duties  as  step-mother  were  more  arduous  than  she  had 
imagined.  She  at  last  won  the  child's  love,  but  j-et  she 
would  constantly  break  out  in  some  flagrant  act  of  dis- 
obedience. If  punished,  as  oftentimes  was  necessary,  she 
always  planned  and  executed  some  act  of  revenge, — once 
tearing  to  pieces  an  exquisite  scarf  which  Mrs.  Hartwell 
had  been  embroidering  ;  another  time  she  threw  a  bottle 
of  choice  perfume  out  of  the  window,  and  unfortunately 
it  fell  upon  the  head  of  the  First  Lieutenant,  who  stood 
beneath  talking  to  the  Colonel. 

"They  suspected  that  these  tricks  were  at  the  direct 
instigation  of  the  old  nurse. 

"  Kiamush  had  had  absolutely  no  religious  training; 
for  how  could  an  ignorant  Indian  woman  teach  what  she 
did  not  know  herself?  Kiamush  had  only  some  idea  of  a 
Great  Spirit,  who,  she  thought,  made  the  tops  of  the  dis- 
tant forest  trees  wave  to  and  fro  in  the  wind,  and  who 
also  sent  the  fierce  thunder-storms.  At  times  it  actually 
seemed  as  if  she  possessed  no  soul ;  not  merely  that  it  was 
unawakened,  but  that  there  was  nothing  spiritual  to 
arouse  more  thnn  we  find  in  any  domestic  animal.  It  did 
not  seem  possible  that  the  sign  of  the  cross  had  ever  been 
traced  in  baptism  upon  her  brow. 

"  One  morning,  after  they  were  seated  at  the  breakfast 
table,  she  appeared  with  the  curly  scalp  of  her  best  doll 
suspended  from  her  waist  by  a  cord ;  and  at  night  she 
insisted  upon  sleeping  on  the  floor  in.stead  of  in  her  bed. 

"  The  Colonel  and  his  wife  talked  it  over  that  evening, 
and  feeling  alniost  discouraged,  they  decided  that  some 
means  must  be  taken  to  separate  her  from  the  old  nurse. 


134       THE  colonel's  Christmas  dinner. 

They  disliked  to  turn  her  away,  for  the  first  Mrs.  Hart- 
well  had  been  really  attached  to  her,  and  the  child  was 
also  perfectly  devoted  to  her. 

"  'There  is  a  tradition,'  said  the  Colonel,  'that  one  of 
my  ancestors  married  an  Indian,  and  heredity  is  such  a 
strange  thing  that  it  ma}'  be  some  of  her  traits  have  de- 
scended to  my  child. ' 

' '  Mrs.  Hartwell  laughed.  '  We  might  as  well  believe 
that  in  some  former  existence  Ki  was  an  Indian  Princess, 
and  that  her  soul  has  merely  taken  to  itself  another 
body. ' 

"'But  really,'  said  her  husband,  'I  was  not  jesting, 
for  in  Colonial  times  my  great-grandfather  harbored  some 
Indians  during  one  of  the  Indian  wars,  and  thej^  vowed 
that  none  of  their  tribe  should  ever  harm  a  descendant  of 
the  Leonards.  That  part  of  the  story  I  know  is  true,  but 
whether  he  married  into  the  tribe  afterwards  or  not  I 
can't  say.' 

"  '  Her  nurse's  influence  would  account  for  everj-thing, 
I  think,'  said  his  practical  wife. 

"One  day  the  Colonel  called  Kiamush  to  him,  and 
asked  to  see  her  string  of  gold  beads  ;  she  promptly  held 
up  her  little  coral  necklace. 

"  '  Not  that ;  your  gold  beads,  I  mean,'  he  had  said. 

"  '  I  never  had  any,'  she  replied. 

"The  old  nurse  being  questioned,  said  that  she  had 
put  them  carefully  away,  as  the  string  was  broken,  and 
she  feared  they  might  get  lost. 

"  Christmas-tide  was  approaching,  and  every  day  Mrs. 
Hartwell  took  little  Kiamush  in  her  lap  and  told  her  the 
old,  old  story  of  that  glorious  night  in  Bethlehem,  tr3'ing 
to  incite  in  her  a  love  for  the  Holy  Child  and  His  teach- 
ings. Day  after  day  she  talked  to  her  on  the  blessedness 
of  living  a  true,  pure  life,  w4th  no  secret  sins  or  naughty 


THE  colonel's  DAUGHTER.         135 

deeds  to  conceal.  She  told  her  in  simple  language  of  the 
pain  it  brought  to  ourselves,  and  to  our  conscience — that 
little  light  within  us — and,  what  was  still  worse,  that  it 
grieved  the  Holy  Child  and  our  friends  also. 

' '  The  stoical  old  nurse  was  usually  in  the  room  sew- 
ing and  listened  with  keen  interest,  but  never  betrayed 
by  word  what  she  felt.  One  day,  however,  she  gave  ut- 
terance to  a  deep  groan  and  left  the  room.  The  next  day 
she  could  not  be  found  ;  then  a  week  elapsed  and  she  did 
not  return.  Kiamush  mourned  her  absence,  for  Christ- 
mas was  nearly  there,  and  she  was  to  have  a  tree  for  the 
first  time,  and  all  the  children  at  the  Fort  were  invited  to 
come  ;  but  she  felt  that  it  would  be  incomplete  without 
the  one  she  still  loved  more  than  any  one  else. 

"  Christmas  eve  came  and  Mrs.  Hartwell  put  Ki  to  bed 
early,  so  she  had  had  a  good,  long  sleep  before  the  caval- 
ry- trumpet  sounded  for  the  extinguishing  of  the  hghts. 
After  that  she  seemed  restless,  and  called  her  mother  sev- 
eral times,  saying  she  had  dreamed  the  Christ-Child  was 
coming.  She  was  much  excited  and  it  was  long  before 
her  mother  could  again  quiet  her  to  sleep.  In  the  morn- 
ing she  awakened  with  the  same  exclamation,  saying, 
'  He  has  come  and  brought  nursie  with  Him.' 

"  At  breakfast  one  of  the  ser\'ants  told  the  Colonel  that 
the  old  nurse  had  returned  laden  with  such  a  roll  of 
blankets  that  she  seemed  scarcely  able  to  stagger  under 
it.     As  the  guard  knew  her  he  had  let  her  pass. 

"  After  breakfast  Kiamush  went  back  to  her  bed-room 
for  some  of  the  little  gifts  which  had  been  in  her  stock- 
ing. A  loud  scream  from  her  brought  the  Colonel,  his 
wife  and  others  to  the  spot. 

"There  on  Kiamush' s  little  bed  lay  a  delicate  child 
with  a  profusion  of  tangled  hair  on  its  well-shaped  head 
and  around  its  throat  a  string  of  gold  beads.     Crouching 


136  TITR  colonel's  CHRISTMAS   DINNEft. 

in  the  corner  was  the  old  nurse,  thin  and  haggard,  but 
defiant  in  expression. 

' '  '  What  does  this  mean  ?  '  demanded  the  Colonel. 

"She  remained  in  the  same  position,  obstinate  and 
sullen,  and  the  sternness  of  the  Colonel  prevailed  nothing. 
But  Mrs.  Hartwell  went  to  her,  laid  her  white  hand  upon 
her  shivering  arm  and  said  quietly,  but  firmly,  'You 
miist  tell  me  wiiat  this  means.'  Then  with  little  Ki 
nestling  in  her  arms  she  poured  forth  a  rather  incoherent 
story  which  was  similar  to  Tennyson's  '  I^ady  Clare.' 

"  '  Are  ye  out  of  your  mind,  my  nurse,  my  nurse,' 

Said  Lady  Clare,  '  that  ye  speak  so  wild  ?  ' 
'As  God's  above,'  said  Alice,  the  nurse, 

'  I  speak  the  truth  ;  you  are  my  child. 
The  old  Earl's  daughter  died  at  my  breast ; 

I  speak  the  truth  as  I  live  by  bread  ! 
I  buried  her  like  my  own  sweet  child, 

And  put  my  child  in  her  stead.' 

' '  Similar,  I  say  to  '  Lady  Clare, '  but  with  this  differ- 
ence. When  the  nurse  found  that  the  Colonel  took  no 
notice  of  the  baby,  and  that  it  was  frail  and  likely  to  die, 
she  had  taken  advantage  of  his  absence  one  time  to  go 
over  the  mountain  to  her  people  and  leave  the  Colonel's 
child  to  live  or  die  as  the  Great  Spirit  should  decide  ;  and 
had  brought  back  her  own  little  motherless  grandchild 
from  its  forest  home  ;  whose  mother  had  died  of  a  broken 
heart  because  of  the  desertion  of  her  white  husband. 

"She  had  kept  up  the  deception  until  hearing  Mrs. 
Hartwell's  teachings  to  Kiamush,  but  they  had  wrought 
upon  her  to  such  a  degree  that  she  could  bear  it  no  longer. 
So  she  had  walked  miles  and  miles  through  the  great 
snow-drifts  and  brought  back  the  lost  child. 

"  The  truth  of  the  story  w^as  apparent,  for  the  slumber- 


THE  COLONEL'S  DAUGHTER.         137 

iug  child,  '  the  little  Christ-child,'  Kiainush  called  it,  was 
a  perfect  likeness  of  its  own  mother. 

"The  Colonel  saw  the  same  rosebud  mouth,  the  long", 
dark  eyelashes  and  golden  hair,  the  delicate  taper  fingers 
and  the  small,  perfectly-shaped  ear,  fitting  close  to  the 
head ;  and  when  the  noise  awakened  the  real  little  Kia- 
mush,  the  lifted  eyelids  displayed  great  baby-blue  eyes, 
with  a  timid,  shy  little  heart  looking  out  of  them.  Of 
course  she  was  tanned,  and  had  been  sadly  neglected  as 
regards  personal  care,  but,  nevertheless.  Colonel  Hartwell 
recognized  his  own  child,  the  legacy  which  his  young 
wife  had  left  him,  and  which  he  had  despised. 

' '  He  was  too  overcome  to  decide  what  would  be  a  fit- 
ting punishment  for  the  treacherous  nurse  ;  but  knowing 
that  his  own  shameful  neglect  was  the  chief  cause,  he 
ordered  for  the  present  she  be  put  to  bed  after  having 
some  food,  and  Mrs.  Hartwell  saw,  herself,  that  she  was 
securely  locked  in.  Then  the  new  child,  who  seemed 
much  frightened,  was  put  in  a  warm  bath,  then  dressed 
in  one  of  her  supplanter's  white  flannel  night-gowns,  and 
after  drinking  a  glass  of  warm  milk  she  fell  asleep  once 
more  beneath  her  father's  roof. 

"The  little  Indian  Kiamush  was  hardly  willing  to  leave 
the  bedside  of  the  sleeper,  but  Mrs.  Hartwell  bore  her  off 
to  matins,  which  the  Chaplain  was  to  say  at  eleven. 

"The  Colonel  wished  to  remain  to  watch  his  child  lest 
the  old  nurse  might  repent  of  her  repentance  and  secure 
her  again,  and  Mrs.  Hartwell  felt  that  his  thoughts  were 
naturally  in  the  past,  and  in  them  she  had  no  share. 

"The  news  of  the  strange  arrival  of  the  Colonel's  real 
child  spread  like  wildfire,  and  soon  everj-  company  in  the 
regiment  was  discussing  the  wonderful  Christmas  news. 

' '  After  dinner  the  children  all  assembled  at  the  Colonel's 
apartments  to  see  the  tree,  to  which  they  had  been  in- 


138  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

vited.  The  little  stranger  from  the  forest,  dressed  in  one 
of  Ki's  little  frocks,  sat  shy  and  frightened  on  Mrs.  Hart- 
well's  lap,  almost  too  dazed  to  or}-  at  the  strange  faces 
about  her,  as  the  oflicers'  wives  crowded  around,  and  yet 
she  looked  every  inch  a  little  lady,  for  blood  will 
show. 

"  It  had  been  a  strange,  eventful  Christmas  Day,  and 
the  Colonel  and  his  wife  sat  up  late  that  night  discussing 
the  future  of  the  two  children,  same  in  age  and  name. 
Mrs.  Hart  well,  having  become  attached  to  Kiamush  in 
these  weeks  of  teaching  her  and  caring  for  her,  wished  to 
adopt  her,  but  the  Colonel  was  opposed  to  it,  for  he  felt 
very  bitter  at  the  thought  of  her  having  so  long  sup- 
planted his  own  child.  Still  his  child  could  speak  no 
English,  and  the  little  half-breed  could  speak  both  lan- 
guages to  a  certain  extent,  and  therefore  would  be  a  great 
help  as  an  interpreter. 

"They  felt,  however,  that  they  need  not  decide  that 
night. 

"  Before  midnight  a  hea\'y  snow-storm  set  in,  and  the 
drifts  piled  up  about  the  fort,  and  towards  morning  the 
thermometer  fell  rapidly.  The  next  daj'-  it  was  found 
that  the  old  nurse  was  missing,  although  her  door  had 
been  locked  on  the  outside,  yet  she  had  escaped.  Her 
window  was  open,  and  there  was  a  print  beneath  where 
the  poor,  frightened  creature  had  jumped  into  the  snow  ; 
and  then  here  and  there,  off  towards  the  direction  of 
the  forest  a  few  struggling  footprints,  which  had 
not  been  effaced  by  the  drifts.  A  search  was  made, 
the  tracks  were  followed,  and  by  noon  the  dead,  frozen 
body  was  found  partially  buried  beneath  a  snow-drift. 
Thus  the  question  of  punishment  for  her,  and  the  ques- 
tion as  to  retaining  the  Indian  child,  were  settled  by  a 
Higher  Power. 


THE  colonel's  DAUGHTER.         139 

' '  The  little  Indian  was  christened  b}--  the  name  she  had 
always  borne,  '  Kiamush  ; '  and  now  Mrs.  Hartwell  found 
heart  and  hands  more  than  full  with  the  care  of  two  chil- 
dren so  utterly  diverse  in  character. 

"  The  blue-eyed  child  could  not  speak  her  native  lan- 
guage, and  had  had  the  bringing  up  of  a  savage  ;  the 
dusky,  dark-eyed  Kiamush,  who  bid  fair  to  rival  the 
fabled  '  Minnehaha  '  in  beauty,  could  speak  the  language 
of  both  parents,  but  seemed  to  have  inherited  the  char- 
acter of  some  bold  Indian  chieftain.  No  ordinary'  woman 
could  have  filled  Mrs.  Hartwell' s  position  ;  but  love,  com- 
bined with  that  gentle  firmness  which  alwaj-s  commands 
respect,  conquered  ;  and  at  fourteen  no  more  beautiful  or 
well-behaved  children  could  be  found  in  the  camp  than 
'  Colonel  Hartwell's  twins,'  as  they  were  called. 

"The  little  Indian  was  the  mother's  favorite,  partly 
because  the  Colonel  was  so  fond  of  his  own  beautiful 
child,  and  parth'  because  she  was  such  an  interesting 
psychological  study. 

"  She  seemed  to  be  forced  to  live  more  than  the  dual 
life  of  flesh  warring  against  the  spirit  ;  hers  seemed  to  be 
a  quadruple  existence.  There  was  the  animal  life  of  the 
Indian  and  its  spiritual  superstitions  ;  ever  antagonistic 
to  the  mentality  and  spirituality  which  she  inherited  from 
her  white  ancestors  ;  and  the  education  she  received  never 
wholly  obliterated  the  diverse  influences  from  her  soul. 
There  was  at  times  an  uncontrollable  desire  for  the  free 
life  of  the  forest,  for  hunting,  roving  and  other  unfeminine 
pursuits.  But  her  devotion  to  the  mother  of  her  adoption, 
and  to  the  child  who  came  to  her  the  first  Christmas  in 
her  remembrance,  never  faltered. 

' '  At  eighteen  they  returned  from  boarding-school  to 
Fort  Snelling,  where  their  father  was  then  stationed,  and 
immediately  became  the  belles  of  the  regiment.     Lieuten- 


140  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

ant   Lennox   and   his  brother,  Captain   Albert  Lennox, 
were  the  favored  suitors  for  the  hands  of  the  '  twins. ' 

"  When  the  Captain  asked  the  brilliant,  dark-e5'ed 
Kiamush  to  marry  him,  she  replied  proudly,  with  flash- 
ing eyes : 

"  '  I  am  not  the  Colonel's  daughter,  and  I  am  prouder 
of  my  mother's  tribe  than  of  my  father's  ancestry  ;  but  I 
love  you  and  will  follow  you,  if  you  are  not  ashamed  of 
my  parentage,  but  if  you  are  I  would  scorn  your  offer.' 

"The  Captain  admired  her  more  than  ever  after  this 
outburst,  for  he  had  been  sought  after  by  the  fair  sex  from 
his  cradle  upwards,  and  it  completelj'  captivated  him  to 
hear  a  girl  say  she  could  scorn  an  oJBfer  of  marriage  from 
him. 

' '  The  golden-haired  daughter  of  the  Colonel,  to  whose 
pure  mind  affectation  and  insincerity  were  unknown  ideas, 
and  in  whose  thoughts  alwaj'S  lingered  a  dim  remem- 
brance of  waving  forests  and  wigwam  fires,  simply  laid 
her  hand  in  the  Lieutenant's  and  accepted  him  without 
asking  for  '  time  to  think  it  over  on  account  of  its  being 
so  sudden  and  unexpected.' 

"  A  double  wedding  soon  took  place,  with  all  the  ele- 
gance the  Fort  could  command,  and  the  Colonel  and  his 
wife  were  congratulated  on  all  sides  upon  the  success  of 
their  beautiful  daughters.  And  the  sisters  by  adoption 
became  sisters-in-law,  but  none  the  less  continued  to  love 
each  other  devotedly. 

"Their  little  infant  daughters,  who  came  to  brighten 
the  regiment,  one  cold,  snowy  Christmas  season,  were 
each,  of  course,  duly  christened  Kiamush,  and  the  gold 
beads  were  put  upon  one,  and  the  little  coral  necklace 
upon  the  other. 

"  In  due  time  they  entered  Vassar  and  graduated  with 
honor,  and  there  were  no  two  more  brilliant  girls  in  my 
class  than  they. 


THE  SENIOR   captain's  STORY.  141 

"What  career  lies  before  them  in  the  future  has  not  as 
yet  been  determined. ' ' 

"And  now  we'll  hear  from  Princeton,"  said  the 
Colonel,  decisively,  with  a  Jove-like  nod  of  his  head 
towards  the  Senior  Captain.  "Collegians  are  scarce  in 
this  crowd " 

"You  forget  Vassar,  Colonel,"  promptly  interposed 
Mr.  Briggs,  with  a  glance  that  plainly  intimated  that  he 
had  not  forgotten  Dot. 

"  I  beg  a  thousand  pardons — I  should  have  said  '  among 
the  men.'  I  meant  it.  Come,  Captain,  it  is  your  turn," 
and  a  murmur  of  approbation  followed  as  once  more  he 
turned  to  his  staunch  supporter — the  right  of  his  line  in 
more  ways  than  one. 

The  Senior  Captain  twisted  his  moustache  thought- 
fully, and  began  : 


THE  SENIOR   CAPTAIN'S   STORY. 

"I  once  attended  a  Christmas  surprise  party  to 
which  I  wasn't  invited.  If  j-ou'll  pass  the  Maraschino 
I'll  tell  you  about  it,  for  it  really  was  no  end  of  fun 
to  me  at  any  rate.  It  was  at  Fort  Sage.  Most  of  you 
know  the  place.  It  was  Christmas-eve,  and  there  had 
been  the  usual  Christmas  trees  and  small  family  gather- 
ings at  the  married  officers'  quarters,  and  a  rather  stiff 
egg-nogg  at  the  mess.  As  I  passed  the  quarters  of 
Colonel  Hume  a  cheery  light  streaming  over  the  spectral 
snow  seemed  to  hold  out  an  invitation  which  I  did  not 
care  to  resist.  There  was  something  in  the  old  fellow's 
dr>'  and  bitter  humor  which  flavored  his  conversation. 
Did  you  harbor  any  illusions  or  cherish  any  ideals,  he 
would  dispel  the  one  and  dethrone  the  other  with  a  cheer- 


142  THE  COLONEL'S  CHRISTMAS   DINNER. 

fill  alacrity  which  reminded  one  of  the  merry  hangman 
in  '  Quentin  Durward.'  Consequently  he  was  much 
sought  by  the  youngsters  whose  hearts  had  been  shriv- 
eled in  passing  through  the  vSahara  of  West  Point.  Th^ 
door  was  opened  by  Mrs.  Lynch,  relict  of  musician  Mi- 
chael Lynch,  who  in  life  had  tortured  the  trombone. 
Round  and  comfortable  as  to  figure,  with  the  frosty  bloom 
of  a  winter  apple,  she  smiled  indulgently  upon  me. 

'"Is  the  Colonel  in  yet,  Mrs.  Lynch  ? '  I  asked. 

"  '  Indade  he's  not,  sor,  and  it's  no  sayin'  whin  he'll 
be  ;  but  come  in  and  kape  out  of  the  cold,  sor;  ye  know 
where  ye' 11  find  the  j^ipes  and  the  'baccy.' 

"  I  followed  her  into  the  Colonel's  cosy  den,  which 
he  dignified  by  the  name  of  library,  and  lighting  a 
favorite  Powhatan,  with  a  long  cane  stem,  I  sank 
into  a  deep  arm-chair  and  resigned  m3'self  to  sen- 
suous content  made  up  of  warmth,  tobacco  and  egg- 
nogg.  I  was  roused  from  a  delightful  lethargy  by  the 
Colonel  stamping  the  snow  off  his  boots.  As  he  came 
in,  his  jolly  red  face  glowing,  in  his  big  buffalo  coat,  was 
the  picture  of  good  humor  ;  but  a  second  glance  showed 
the  hard  lines  which  trouble  had  graven  deeph-  around 
his  mouth, 

'In  the  gloaming,  oh,  my  darling,'  chirped  the  old 
gentleman.  '  Musing  over  the  coals  like  a  true- 
hearted  bachelor,  for  which  nature  cut  you  out,  my 
boy  ;  but  like  many  other  duffers  you  knew  better  than 
the  old  lady,  and  behold  the  result.  You  forsake  the  fat- 
ted calf  to  browse  on  the  husks,  and  that  on  Christmas- 
eve.  Come,  now' — drawing  up  a  chair  beside  me,  and 
filling  his  pipe — '  tell  the  honest  truth  ;  isn't  there  a  flavor 
about  the  husks  which  you  don't  get  in  the  domestic 
veal  ?  Marriage,  my  boy,  is  a  bit  of  music  with  lots  of 
variations,  but  somehow  or  other  you  can't  arrange  them 


THE  SENIOR  captain's  STORY.  143 

SO  that  the  discords  will  not  be  heard.  Gad,  in  old  times 
they  used  to  make  hermits  out  of  scamps ;  we've  im- 
proved on  that,  we  reform  them  bj'  turning  them  into 
husbands.  I  haven't  a  word  to  say  against  love  ;  it  may 
be  sill3',  but  it  isn't  incurable.  Beside,  love's  a  necessary 
evil ;  it  was  nature's  first  production,  and  she  ought  to 
have  stopped  then;  but,  Hke  a  great  many  other  successful 
authors,  she  must  try  a  sequel.  She  got  too  many  prop- 
erties on  her  stage  ;  tried  to  make  a  spectacular  drama 
out  of  a  two-character  piece  written  in  the  only  language 
which  sur\'ived  the  Tower  of  Babel,  with  no  scenery  but 
the  grass  under  foot  and  the  trees  overhead.  I  liked  the 
original,  but  didn't  care  for  the  sequel.  Too  much  style 
and  gew-gaws. 

"  '  Marian's  married  and  I  sit  here 
Alone  and  merry  at  forty  year, 
Dipping  my  nose  in  the  Gascon  wine  ' — 

"  '  Speaking  of  wine,  will  you  have  a  drink  ?  ' 

"  '  Thanks,  none  for  me,'  I  replied,  '  The  egg-nogg  was 
decidedly  potent.' 

' '  Silence  fell  upon  us  both  and  the  Colonel  seemed  to 
be  seeking  the  dead  past  in  the  rapidly-fading  embers. 

"  'So  you  did  have  a  Marian,'  I  ventured,  feeling  an 
uncontrollable  desire  to  drop  a  tentative  lead  into  the  un- 
explored depths  of  the  Colonel's  past. 

"  '  Yes,'  replied  the  Colonel.  And  a  still  longer  silence 
followed. 

"  '  I  believed  it  all  as  fondly,  as  blindly,  as  besottedly,  as 
the  poor  dupe  who  went  to  sleep  a  caliph  and  woke  up  a 
pauper.  One  day  my  happiness  turned  all  I  touched, 
even  the  commonest  things,  to  gold  ;  the  next  the  heart 
I  believed  priceless  proved,  at  the  sight  and  touch  of  gold, 
base  metal.     I  beg  her  pardon  ;  she  was  simply  a  dutiful 


144  THE  COLONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

daughter.  Her  parents  said,  "  Mj-  child,  a  rich  man 
wishes  to  marry  you  ;  throw  that  heart  away  and  be  a 
woman."  Of  course  she  obeyed  them;  that's  all  there 
was  of  it.  But  what's  the  use  of  abusing  women  ;  I 
haven't  found  men  so  much  better.  Did  you  know  that 
I  had  a  nephew  of  whom  I  grew  as  fond  as  I  think  one 
man  can  well  be  of  another.  I  began  to  feel  that  fate  had 
made  me  some  amends  in  giving  me  sympathy  and  good 
fellowship  in  exchange  for  a  dream. ' 

' '  Here  the  Colonel  stopped.  I  rather  indicated  than 
spoke  a  single  word.     '  Dead  ? ' 

"  '  No,  worse  ;  a  blackguard,  whether  alive  or  dead,  I 
don't  know.  I  did  all  I  could,  but  he  was  bound  to  go  to 
the  bad.  The  last  thing  I  heard  of  him  he  had  married  a 
pretty  girl  to  spoil  her  life  I  suppose.  What  an  infernal 
muddle  it  all  is.' 

"  The  door  sljdy  opened  and  the  rubicund  countenance 
of  Mrs.  Lynch  diffused  a  mellow  radiance.  '  Kurnel,  I'm 
axin'  3'er  pardon  for  presuming  to  inthrude,  but  the  good 
ladies  have  sint  you  an  ilegaut  Christmas  gift  what' 11 
kape  you  warrm  this  bitter  cold  night  and  they  laid  a 
promise  on  me  that  I'd  show  it  you  before  ye  wiut  to 
bed.' 

"  '  Christmas  Carols  and  coals  of  fire  all  in  a  lump,'  I 
cried ;  '  you  undeserving  sinner,  j'ou've  been  abusing 
your  best  friends. ' 

"'Come  along,'  he  replied,  'let's  see  what  it's  like. 
If  it's  anj^thing  to  warm  the  inner  man  we'll  take  a  nip.' 

"  Mrs.  Iv5'nch  led  the  way  with  conscious  pride  into  a 
cheerful  room  with  a  clear  fire  glowing  in  the  grate  and 
brightly  lighted  by  several  wax  candles  in  old-fashioned 
silver  candlesticks  evidently  to  do  honor  to  the  gift. 
There  it  was,  laid  across  the  bed -a  rich,  bright-colored 
silk  quilted  coverlid,  and  slightly  mo\-ing  in  the  centre 


THE  vSENIOR  CAPTAIN'S  STORY.  145 

was  something  white,  which,  as  we  drew  near  in  speech- 
less surprise,  revealed  a  veritable  snow-flake,  which  might 
have  drifted  on  the  winter  wind  from  some  far-oflf  fairy 
land.  A  closer  inspection  showed  that  the  snow-flake 
had  a  chubby  fist  crammed  into  its  mouth  and  was  wink- 
ing contentedly  at  the  firelight,  as  the  Colonel  and  I 
stared  helplessly  from  the  apparition  to  one  another. 

"Mrs.  Lynch  whispered,  'Holy  Mother  of  God!  it's 
an  angel  came  to  us  this  blessed  Christmas  eve.'  At  this 
critical  moment,  as  if  to  disclaim  such  lofty  origin,  the 
fist  was  slowly  withdrawn,  the  eyes  disappeared  into 
innumerable  puckers  and  the  snow-flake  was  merged  into 
a  mouth  which  emitted  a  yell  out  of  all  proportion  to  its 
size.  Mrs.  Lynch  made  a  dash  for  the  recreant  cherub, 
but  the  Colonel  seized  her  roughly  by  the  arm. 

"  '  Stuff"  and  nonsense  !  some  trick,'  said  he.  '  Bridget, 
have  you  a  hand  in  this ;  did  you  let  that  thing  in  the 
house  ?    Take  it  away  this  instant. ' 

"  '  Indade  and  it's  God's  truth  I'm  tellin'  you,'  she 
panted,  trying  to  quiet  the  vociferous  infant.  '  When  I 
left  the  room  to  call  you  there  was  not  a  livin'  thing  in  it 
savin'  the  quilt,  which  I  put  on  the  bed  wid  me  own 
hands  ;  sorra's  the  day  that  I'd  be  bringin'  throuble  on 
you,  sor,  and  all  that  j-e've  done  for  me  and  mine.' 

"  '  Take  it  away,'  the  Colonel  repeated  helplessly. 

' '  The  little  fellow,  attracted  by  the  buttons,  for  the 
Colonel  had  donned  his  best  blouse  in  honor  of  the  even- 
ing's festivities,  stretched  out  his  chubby  little  hands 
with  a  gurgle  of  delight.  The  Colonel's  face  softened. 
It  wasn't  in  human  nature,  certainly  not  in  his,  to  be 
proof  against  that  base  infantile  stratagem.  '  I  suppose 
they  trained  you  to  do  that,  you  little  beggar,  before 
they  sent  you  out  to  impose  upon  people — here,  take  it 
away.' 

7 


146  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

"'Where  sliall  I  take  it,  sor?'  whimpered  Mrs. 
Bridget. 

"  '  Anywhere,  anywhere  !  Give  it  to  the  Captain  here'; 
let  him  take  it  home  to  his  wife.' 

"  '  You  are  very  generous,  but  I  could  not  think  of  de- 
priving you  of  such  a  priceless  treasure,'  said  I.  '  Now 
if  you  were  to  offer  me  the  quilt  I  might  be  induced  to 
accept.' 

"  You  be  d — d,'  he  retorted,  with  such  hearty  emphasis 
that  I  realized  that  any  more  teasing  would  imperil  the 
chances  of  the  poor  little  waif,  of  whom  I  had  already 
become  a  warm  partisan. 

"  Bridget  had,  in  the  mean  time,  drawn  a  chair  to  the 
fire  and,  with  her  new-found  treasure  in  her  lap,  was 
rubbing  and  warming  his  little  feet.  She  looked  up 
anxiously  at  the  Colonel's  explosion.  '  Only  mind 
the  little  davlin'  stretchin'  his  toes  to  the  fire  ;  shure,  sor, 
you  wnll  kape  the  poor  lamb  this  night.  It  wud  be  bad 
luck,  to  say  nothin'  of  ingratitude  to  the  blessed  Christ,  to 
turn  one  of  His  little  ones  away,  and  it  the  holy  Christ- 
mas eve.' 

"  '  What  the  devil  can  I  do  else  ?  '  snapped  the  Colonel. 
'  Can  I  put  five  cents  in  his  hand  and  tell  him  to  go  to 
the  next  house  ?  Here,  put  him  to  bed  and  see  that  he 
doesn't  howl.' 

"  '  Howl,  is  it  ?  I  am  only  hopin'  ye  may  have  as  swate 
a  slape.  My  respects  to  ye  both,  gintlemin,  and  wishin' 
3'ou  a  Merry  Christmas,  and  ye' 11  desar\^e  it,  Kumel, 
barrin'  your  talkin'  of  sendin'  the  craytureaway,  and  ye'd 
not  turn  out  a  star\nn'  dog,'  and  the  good  woman  disap- 
peared with  a  suspicious  moisture  in  her  eyes. 

"The  spectacle  of  utter  content  exhibited  by  the  dire 
disturber  of  our  peace  as  he  triumphantly  rode  off  on 
Mrs.  I^ynch's  shoulder  was  too  much  for  even  the  Colonel's 


THE  SENIOR  captain's  STORY.  147 

worriment,  and  we  both  laughed  heartily  ;  but  with  the 
closing  door  he  turned  to  me  with  an  expression  of  hope- 
less perplexity.  '  Nice  situation,  upon  my  soul !  When 
you  see  the  Quartermaster  to-morrow,  my  boy,  ask  him 
if  he  will  have  a  sign  painted  for  my  front  door,  Found- 
liyig  Asylum  !  I  might  as  well  face  the  music  ;  by  this 
time  to-morrow  the  old  post  gossips  will  have  got  the  yam 
in  embellished  form.' 

"  '  Colonel,'  said  I,  '  what  is  your  idea  about  this?  You 
do  not  suspect  a  trick,  do  you  ? ' 

"'No,'  he  said,  emphatically;  'not  in  the  way  of  a 
joke.  We  have  our  fair  allowance  of  fools,  but  I  think 
not  any  absolute  curs  ;  beside,  what  woman  would  lend  a 
child  for  such  a  purpose  ?  There  is  no  hope  of  any 
such  solution.  Some  one  was  watching  Mrs.  Lynch 
through  the  window  and  slipped  in  as  soon  as  she  left  the 
room.  You  see  it  opens  into  that  short  passage  with  a 
door  leading  to  the  garden.  I  am  afraid  it  is  a  Booties' 
baby  business,  and  yet  I  do  not  think  I  have  made  any 
enemy  sufficiently  clever  to  devise  such  a  revenge.' 

' ' '  More  likely,'  I  said,  '  that  some  one,  knowing  that  yow. 
have  a  woman's  heart  under  your  bear's  hide,  has  simply 
put  on  you  the  onus  of  turning  out  a  child  that  thej'  were 
unable  or  unwilling  to  provide  for. ' 

"  '  Yes,  possibly  some  poor  devil  on  the  verge  of  star\'a- 
tion.  Well !  I  suppose  I  must  keep  it  until  I  find  its 
owner. ' 

"  '  Good-night,  old  man,'  I  replied.  '  I  wish  3'ou  suc- 
cess in  your  new  role — ^Japhet  in  search  of  a  father  or  mo- 
ther, you  are  not  particular  which.  At  any  rate  3'ou 
have  a  new  interest  in  life,  and  I  am  almost  tempted  to 
hope  that  the  mystery  may  never  be  cleared  up.  It  would 
be  so  delightful  to  see  your  acceptance  of  the  duties  and 
responsibilities  of  matrimony.     You  are  atoning  nobly 


148  THE  COLONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

for  the  crime  of  abusing  it.     Good-night,  papa!  good- 
night and  a  Merry  Christmas  to  the  whole  family.     I'll 
look  in  to-morrow  morning.'     Then  I  left  abruptly,  for, 
there  were  fire-shovels,  canes,  pokers  and  umbrellas  un- 
pleasantly handy  for  missile  weapons. 

' '  Christmas  morning  came  cold  and  clear,  as  it  only 
comes  on  the  great  plains  ;  so  still  that  nature  seemed  to 
have  stopped  breathing.  Smoke  floated  up  in  a  tall,  ver- 
tical column  till  it  blended  with  the  clear  blue,  and  the 
monotonous  outlines  of  a  woodless  country  assumed  purity 
and  beauty  veiled  in  maiden  white.  As  one  officer  after 
another  emerged,  hearty  greetings  and  merry  laughter 
rang  upon  the  frosty  air,  the  only  Christmas  bells  in  that 
distant  region.  About  eleven  o'clock  I  went  to  Colonel 
Hume's  quarters.  Mrs.  Lynch,  rustling  in  the  stiff  dig- 
nity of  her  Christmas  gown,  opened  the  door  and  ushered 
me  at  once  into  the  presence  of  His  Majesty,  who  was  en- 
throned upon  the  kitchen  table,  where  he  could  oversee 
his  realm,  while  his  obedient  hand-maiden  cooked  the 
Colonel's  Christmas  turkey.  In  the  corner  was  a  branch 
from  one  of-  the  few  stunted  evergreens  which  grew  upon 
the  reservation,  set  in  a  tub  of  sand  and  ashes  and  hung 
with  gay-colored  glass  balls  and  strings  of  rock  candy. 
The  little  fellow  was  literally  smothered  in  drums  and 
horses  and  woolly  dogs,  from  the  midst  of  which  he  crowed 
delightedly.  It  was  evident  that  Mrs.  Lynch  had  sacked 
the  sutler's  store  at  an  early  hour.  I  am  almost  ashamed 
to  say  how  much  I  was  moved  at  the  sight  of  this  little 
waif  brought  in  from  cold  and  hunger  to  the  warmth  and 
welcome  of  a  motherly  heart,  and  I  thought :  '  Inasmuch 
as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these."  Alas  ! 
the  spirit  of  unrest  and  grasping  ambition  had  entered 
the  infantile  Paradise.  In  one  of  his  frantic  grabs  at  a 
woolly  dog,  with  evident  intention  of  sucking  the  paint 


THE  SENIOR  captain's  STORY.  149 

off,  he  grasped  his  own  toe,  and,  utterly  unmindful  of 
feasible  joys,  he  devoted  every  faculty  to  the  task  of  get- 
ting it  into  his  mouth,  with  the  result  of  rolling  over,  to 
the  injury  of  the  dog,  and  at  imminent  risk  of  falling  off 
the  table.  A  scream,  a  frantic  rush,  and  the  squirming 
mass  of  baby  and  toe  was  rescued  from  its  perilous  posi- 
tion. After  duly  praising  and  patting  the  prodigy  I  went 
in  search  of  the  Colonel,  pondering  much  over  the  dia- 
monds in  rough  of  some  natures  and  the  delicacy  and 
poetr}-  inherent  in  the  Irish  heart. 

"As  it  was  about  12  o'clock,  I  bent  my  steps  to  the 
mess,  for  I  knew  that  there  was  high  carnival  there-  As 
I  entered,  bursts  of  laughter  punctuated  a  story  which 
some  one  was  telling.  I  found  all  the  mess  gathered 
round  the  Colonel,  and  I  concluded  that  he  had  taken  the 
bull  by  the  horns  and  was  telling  the  story  on  him- 
self. 

"  On  the  table,  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  stood  a  great 
bowl  of  steaming  apple-toddy  of  true  Virginia  make  and 
flavor,  for  had  not  one  of  the  longest-legged  sons  of  the 
old  Dominion  that  ever  bestrode  a  calvar>'-horse  mingled 
the  ingredients  with  loving  care  ?  On  a  smaller  table  at 
one  side  stood  a  glass  bowl  containing  an  insinuating  and 
deadly  punch,  the  work  of  a  scion  of  innumerable  Knick- 
erbockers, who  brought  to  this  far-off  wilderness  a  flavor 
of  Rockaway  and  Tuxedo,  our  swell  par-excellence  Lieu- 
tenant Cortlandt,  the  adjutant  of  the  post.  The  Colonel 
nodded  pleasantly  to  me,  and  went  on  with  his  story  : 
'Where  was  I?  oh,  yes,  T  was  just  at  the  climax.  The 
old  woman  dragged  us  into  the  bedroom  to  see  the  pres- 
ent ;  and  what  do  you  suppose  we  found  ? '  here  he  made 
the  usual  dramatic  pause. 

"  '  If  the  women  on  the  post  knew  you  as  well  as  we 
do,'  drawled  Brokenborough,   the  tall  Virginian,  in  his 


150  TIIK  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

musical  vernacular,  '  j-ou  found  a  five-gallon  jug  of  good 
whiskey.' 

"  'To  tell  you  the  truth,'  said  the  Colonel,  '  that  was 
what  I  rather  expected  to  find,  but  when  we  entered  the 
room  we  were  partially  blinded  by  the  combined  effect  of 
wax  candles  and  the  loveliest  coverlid  you  ever  laid  eyes 
on.' 

"  'Kind  that  you  win  at  a  charity  bazar  and  give  it 
b-back  to  be  p-put  up  next  night,'  suggested  Cortlandt. 

"  '  Nothing  of  the  sort,'  said  the  Colonel ;  'something 
that  such  a  graceless  scamp  as  you  need  never  hope  to 
attain.  Well,  as  soon  as  our  eyes  became  accustomed  to 
this  blaze  of  glory,  we  noticed  something  wiggling  in 
the  middle  of  the  coverlid,  and  as  I  live  it  was  neither 
more  nor  less  than  a  real,  live,  kicking  baby.' 
"  '  Great  Scott ! '  shouted  the  club  in  Gilbertian  chorus. 

"  'I  pitched  into  the  old  woman,  and  she  swore  there 
was  nothing  on  the  bed  but  the  quilt  when  she  left  the 
room  to  call  me  in  and  show  me  the  present,  and  I  do  be- 
lieve that  to  this  moment  she  thinks  it  came  from  above. 
I  ordered  her  to  throw  it  out  of  the  window,  but  Bridget 
and  my  friend,  here  the  Captain,  begged  so  hard  for  the 
kid  that  I  consented  to  give  it  a  night's  lodging.' 

"  '  You  old  dog  in  the  manger,'  I  retorted,  '  you  felt  that 
it  was  nothing  on  earth  but  poetic  justice  overtaking  j-ou 
for  the  way  you've  abused  men  whose  happiness  3'ou 
envied,  and  you  took  your  medicine  like  a  little  man. 

"  '  It's  well  you  did,  for  I've  just  come  from  j^our  quar- 
ters, and  if  anj'body  on  this  earth  can  truly  sing  "I'm 
monarch  of  all  I  surve}^'  it's  that  identical  kid.  Bridget 
has  it  seated  on  the  kitchen-table,  with  the  whole  contents 
of  the  sutler's  store  spread  around  it,  and  a  brilliantly- 
decorated  Christmas-tree  in  the  ash  can  in  one  corner. 
She  stops  basting  the  turkey  to  kiss  the  baby,  and  I  am 


THE  SENIOR  CAPTAIN'S  STORY.  151 

afraid  you  will  have  under-done  turkey  and   over-done 
baby  for  dinner. 

"  The  club  laughed  with  evident  enjoyment  of  the  Col- 
onel's discomfiture. 

Brokenborough  said,  '  If  you  don't  want  him,  Colonel, 
you  can  turn  him  over  to  the  base-ball  club  for  a  mascot.' 

'  Give  him  to  me,'  said  Courtland  ;  '  I'll  make  at-tiger 
of  him  one  of  these  days. ' ' 

"  '  Gentlemen,  said  old  Paddy  Byrne,  the  joUiest  Irish- 
man in  the  ser\'ice,  '  5'ou' re  treating  this  event  with  undue 
Ievit>'.  It's  a  momentous  step  in  the  career  of  my  distin- 
guished friend,  and  there's  fine  precedents  for  it.  Didn't 
the  Emperor  Napoleon,  when  he  was  just  as  good  as  a  bach- 
elor, adopt  Prince  Eugene?  I'm  sincerely  glad  that  this 
Maverick  has  turned  up  to  occupy  a  corner  in  the  heart 
that's  intirely  too  large  for  the  proprietor  all  by  himself. 
May  it  grow  up  to  be  the  prop  of  his  declining  years. 
Gentlemen,  we  drink  the  health  of  Colonel  Hume  and  his 
adopted  son.' 

"After  this  the  fun  became  general  and  the  Colonel 
was  given  a  respite. 

"  '  Come,'  he  said,  taking  me  by  the  arm,  '  let  us  go  to 
the  house  and  see  if  there's  any  prospect  of  solving  this 
mystery.' 

"When  we  reached  the  door,  Mrs.  Lynch  rushed  out 
to  meet  us.  '  Oh,  Kurnel !'  she  fairly  screamed,  '  I've 
found  her  !' 

"  'The  devil  you  have  !'  he  replied.  'Twin  sister,  I 
suppose.  With  your  peculiar  talent  for  finding  babies, 
Bridget,  the  whole  family  will  be  here  before  morning. 
The  fellow  who  takes  rabbits  out  of  his  hat  was  a  duffer  to 
you  ;  how  do  you  manage  it  ?' 

"  '  How  you  will  be  talkin',  sor  ;  I  mane  the  mother, 
and  a  fine,  dacint  woman  she  is,  and  she  was  starvin',  and 


152        THE  colonel's  chrlstmas  dinner. 

she  could  get  a  place  barriu'  that  she  had  the  hdhy,  and 
so ' 

"  'Well,  well,  come  in  and  finish  your  story  ;  it  is  too 
cold  to  be  standing  outside,'  and  he  led  her  to  the  warmth 
and  comfort  of  the  hbrarj'.  '  Now,  tell  us  how  you  found 
her,  what  she  has  to  say  for  herself,  and  why  she  brought 
it  here.' 

"  '  Well,  sor,  ye  know  I'd  not  be  likin'  to  lave  it  long 
for  fear  of  itshurtin'  itself,  but  I  just  stepped  across  the 
way  to  Mrs.  Redmond's  to  borrow  from  the  cook  a  little 
spice  for  me  puddin'.  Whin  I  come  back,  there  was  this 
young  woman  down  on  her  knees  sobbin'  over  the  baby 
and  smudderin'  it  wid  kisses,  and  talkin'  wild  like,  and 
callin'  down  all  the  blessin's  of  heavin  on  thim  that  had 
tuk  pitty  on  her  baby,  and  threated  it  like  it  was  their  own. ' 

"  '  I  see  it  all,  Bridget  ;  you  need  tell  me  no  more.  You 
got  up  and  looked  at  each  other  and  then  fell  to  hugging 
the  bab5^' 

"  'Not  at  all,  sor  ;  I  was  for  orderin'  her  out  o'  the 
house,  but  she  stud  up  on  her  feet  and  looked  me  in  the 
face,  and  there  was  somethin'  about  her,  sor, — not  that  she 
was  well  dressed,  but  somethin' — you'll  understand,  sor, 
— that  told  me  she  had  seen  better  daj^s. ' 

"  '  I  would  like  to  see  her,'  said  the  Colonel.  '  Can't 
you  get  her  to  come  in  and  tell  me  her  story  ?' 

"  '  I'm  afraid,  sor,  that  it'll  frighten  her  away,  and  if 
she  goes  off  in  this  bither  cold  weather,  she  will  be  dead 
before  momin' — she's  that  wake  and  miserable.' 

"  '  Bless  my  soul  ! '  exclaimed  the  Colonel ;  '  I  must  go 
and  see  her.  Go  ahead,  Bridget ;  but  I  am  afraid  it  is 
too  late  ;  she  must  have  heard  us  talking.' 

"  '  Niver  you  mind  that,  sor.  I  slipped  the  key  in  me 
pocket,  whin  I  came  in  the  house,  and  she'll  not  get  out 
of  the  window,  and  she  barely  able  to  stand.' 

"The  Colonel  followed  Bridget,  but  as  he  approached 


THE  SENIOR  CAPTAIN'S  STORY.  153 

I  heard  a  faint  scream,  and  a  woman  dashed  past  him, 
evidently  making  for  the  front  door.  Seeing  me,  she 
stopped  with  the  helpless  look  of  a  hunted  animal,  her 
feet  seemed  to  give  way,  and  she  fell  into  the  nearest  chair 
and  endeavoring  to  hide  her  face.  The  glimpse  I  had 
showed  a  figure  tall  and  well  made,  but  painfully  thin. 
Her  face,  when  ^hef  ally  raised  it — well,  I  can't  describe 
a  woman,  but  if  any  of  you  have  ever  seen  the  Beatrice, 
— I  don't  mean  the  smiling  damsel  of  the  copies,  who 
has  put  on  a  coquettish  turban  for  a  masquerade,  but  the 
soul-haunting  picture  of  Guido— that  face  in  which  grief 
has  crushed  out  the  beauty — you  can  fancy  what  she 
looked  like.  The  Colonel  came  in,  evidently  at  his  wits' 
end,  but  when  he  saw  that  face  the  grand  old  fellow^ 
showed  of  what  stuff  he  was  made.  I  wish  some  of  the 
women  who  think  him  only  a  bear  could  have  seen  him. 
He  spoke  to  her  as  gently  as  if  she  had  been  his  own 
daughter,  come  home  after  long  and  wear\'  wanderings  ; 
and  as  she  looked  up  at  him,  she  seemed  to  read  the 
true  goodness  and  tenderness  of  his  heart,  for  she  made 
an  effort  to  rise  and  speak.  But  he  laid  a  kind  hand  upon 
her,  saying,  '  Why  do  you  wish  to  run  away  from  us  ? 
We  are  your  friends  here.  Come,  tell  me  all  about  your- 
self, and  how  you  came  to  be  in  such  trouble.  Bridget 
bring  a  glass  of  wine  and  biscuit,'  and  w^heeling  her  chair 
up  to  the  fire,  he  made  her  drink  the  wine  ;  then  placing 
himself  beside  her,  he  waited  patiently  till  she  had 
strength  to  speak. 

"  'Oh,  sir,'  she  said,  raising  her  tearful  eyes  to  him, 
'  what  can  I  say,  to  thank  j'ou  and  bless  you  for  your 
goodness  i  I  had  only  meant  to  steal  in  and  give  my  poor 
baby  one  last  kiss  ;  but  the  sight  of  his  happiness,  and  all 
that  this  good  woman  had  done  for  him,  overcame  me 
entirely,  for,  as  you  see,  I  am  not  very  strong. 


154  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

"  '  I  had  lost  my  husband,  I  was  without  a  cent,  and  I 
could  get  no  work,  burdened  with  the  }Oung  child.  No 
one  wants  a  woman  with  a  baby.  In  my  distress,  not 
knowing  where  to  tuni,  I  remembered  my  mother's 
words  :  '  If  you  ever  need  a  friend  go  to  Colonel  Hunie, 
tell  him  frankly  whose  daughter  you  are,  and  though  I 
wronged  him  bitterlj',  he  loved  me  as  only  such  men  can 
love,  and  will  cherish  no  unkindness  to  the  dead. ' 

"  '  Then  you  are  poor  Mary's  daughter.'  The  old  Col- 
onel's lip  trembled,  and  he  took  the  poor,  thin  hand  in  his 
and  lifted  it  reverentially  to  his  lips.  *  My  dear, '  he  said, 
'  I  never  loved  but  one  woman,  and  her  daughter  cannot 
want  a  home  or  friend  while  I  live — and  who  was  j^our 
husband  ? ' 

"  '  I  married  against  my  parents'  will,  and  a  short  time 
after  my  father  had  money  troubles,  his  health  gave  waj', 
he  died  and  we  were  left  penniless.  My  mother  did  not 
long  sur\'ive  him,  and  after  her  death  my  husband  was 
more  and  more  unfortunate,  and  in  his  misery  he  sought 
the  worst  of  all  consolations  ;  one  thin.g  after  another  was 
sold  or  pawned,  until  nothing  was  left.  He  finally  en- 
listed, and  died  soon  after  he  got  to  this  post.  I  have 
some  skill  as  an  artist,  and  managed  to  get  together 
enough  to  come  to  him  when  I  heard  of  his  illness.  He 
died  before  I  reached  here.  The  rest  you  know.  Can 
5'ou  forgive  the  mad  step  I  took,  and  think  of  me  as  a 
w^oman  who  had  but  one  ray  of  hope  on  earth  and  blindly 
followed  it  ? ' 

"  '  Your  husband  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  — th  ;  and 
what  was  his  name  ?  '  asked  the  Colonel. 

"She  answered,  with  evident  reluctance:  'Arthur 
Hume.' 

* '  '  Great  Heavens  !  my  unfortunate  nephew  ! ' 

** '  I  know  how  badly  you  thought  of  him,'  she  pleaded, 


THE   SENIOR   captain's   STORY.  155 

'  but  indeed  he  was  uever  unkind  to  me  when  he  was 
sober. ' 

"  Poor  girl,  what  a  pitiful  revelation  lay  beneath  those 
words ! 

"  'I'll  say  nothing  hard  of  him  now,'  said  the  Colonel 
gently,  '  but  I  will  hope,  Marie,  that  your  boy  may  fill  in 
both  of  our  hearts  the  place  of  those  we  have  loved  and 
lost.' 

"  At  this  moment  Mrs.  Lynch  re-entered,  bearing  the 
bab}'  in  her  arms.  Marie  rose  and  clasped  him  tightly 
to  her  breast. 

"  '  Never  more  to  part,  dear  little  one,'  she  said  ;  '  we 
have  found  some  one  to  love  us.' 

"  '  Yes,  my  dear  niece,'  replied  the  Colonel,  '  this  must 
be  your  home  alwa5'S. ' 

"  '  Oh,  uncle,  that  would  be  too  much  of  a  burden  for 
3'ou,  a  baby  in  the  house.  We  will  live  near  you,  and  I 
can  work.' 

"  '  No,  no,  my  dear,'  said  Colonel  Hume,  stroking  the 
baby's  cheek  ;  '  you  gave  him  to  nie  and  you  cannot  take 
him  back.  This  little  child  has  brought  again  to  me  the 
happy  days  of  youth  and  love.  He  has  found  his  wa}^  to 
my  old  heart,  and  it  shall  be  his  as  long  as  I  live.  Cap- 
tain, bring  your  good  wife  over  this  evening,  and  we  will 
have  a  happj'  Christmas,  and  3'ou  shall  see  how  diligently 
the  old  bachelor  will  make  up  for  all  the  years  of  happi- 
ness he  has  lost.'  " 

And  then,  with  the  "  sma'  hours  "  beginning  to  grow 
anything  but  wee,  the  tireless  party  turned  on  the  sol- 
dier who  sat  at  the  place  of  honor  at  the  right  of  the 
Colonel's  wife.  No  one  could  think  of  going  home 
without  a  story  from  his  lips.  He  had  told  not  a  few, 
but  each  was  fresh,  new,  quainter  even  than  its  prede- 
cessor, full  of  the   oddest,  brightest  thoughts  and    sim- 


150        THE  coLoxia's  ciiristmas  dinner. 

iles,  Inibbling  over  with  a  humor  inexhaustible  as  the 
famous  spring  of  Rhenish  Prussia,  and  to  the  full  as 
cool  and  sparkling.  It  was  useless  for  him  to  beg  oflf. 
He  might  have  known  they  would  not  go  without 


THE  COLONEL'S  STORY;    OR,  ORRIKER'S  EARRINGS. 

' '  Probabl}'  none  of  you  ever  met  Lieutenant  Orriker  ? 
I  believe  he  was  before  your  time. ' ' 

"  Never  heard  of  him,  Colonel." 

This  was  said  by  the  Assistant  Post-Surgeon,  in  whose 
direction  the  Colonel  happened  to  be  looking.  Then 
recollecting  he  was  in  his  first  year  of  service,  the  Assist- 
ant blushed  violently  and  resolved  he  would  not  be  be- 
trayed into  another  word  no  matter  what  turned  up. 

"Well,  Orriker  resigned  years  ago.  He  was  an  old 
crony  of  mine,  and  what  I  am  going  to  tell  you  is  a  bit  of 
genuine  history." 

Between  ourselves,  the  incident  was  entirely  of  home 
production,  but  a  modest  man  talks  more  freely  about 
his  neighbors  than  himself,  so  the  Colonel  took  refuge 
behind  a  personality  only  to  be  found  in  very  old  army 
recollections. 

Just  here,  however,  the  Colonel's  wife,  wdio  wore  a  light 
scarf  upon  her  shoulders,  folded  this  rather  hastily  over 
her  head,  and  the  Quartermaster,  who  knew  something 
of  drafts,  got  up  and  closed  the  door  behind  the  madam, 
for  which  he  was  rewarded  with  a  smile  that  had  in  it,  he 
thought,  as  much  amusement  as  thanks.  And  the  As- 
sistant-Surgeon looked  grimly  on  and  said  to  himself, 
"  Ah,  ha  !  she  is  a  bit  of  a  coquette  still." 

This  little  confusion  over,  the  Colonel  began  : 

' '  It  certainly  was  a  singular  ornament  that  attracted 


THE   colonel's  STORY.  157 

the  attention  of  Lieutenant  Orriker  as  he  passed  the  win- 
dow— only  a  pair  of  earrings — but  of  such  a  curious  make 
that  another  look  was  inevitable,  and  then  another,  until 
the  conviction  arose  that  those  earrings  were  of  no  com- 
mon origin  or  associations, 

' '  The  pen  that  Tennyson  uses,  or  the  telescope  that 
Wellington  held,  may  readily  be  supposed  to  acquire 
some  subtile  atmosphere  of  their  own  that  could  strengthen 
the  poet's  or  the  soldier's  eye  and  help  him  to  visions  and 
combinations  beyond  ordinary  reach  ;  nor  was  the  savage 
altogether  wrong  who  desired  to  dine  on  his  rival's  heart 
in  order  that  he.  might  secure  some  portion  of  his  rival's 
courage. 

"So  in  the  sparkle  of  these  earrings  the  Lieutenant 
seemed  to  see,  as  in  a  magic  glass,  the  graceful  forms  and 
draperies  of  foreign  lands  moving  to  strange  melodies, 
and  even  to  him  out  there  on  the  street  came  a  faint  fra- 
grance of  incense  and  spices  that  belonged  rather  to  Ara- 
bian than  New  England  nights. 

"In  his  walk  the  next  morning  he  suddenly  found 
himself  looking  into  the  window  as  before,  but  the  ear- 
rings were  gone,  and  he  began  to  realize  what  an  impres- 
sion they  had  made,  and  how  much  he  wanted  them. 

' '  For  he  had  found  out  that  a  certain  birthday  was  not 
far  off  which  called  for  agreeable  notice,  and  where  selec- 
tion was  difl&cult  it  was  wise  to  begin  early. 

"  Nothing  declared  itself  that  had  a  tithe  of  the  fascina- 
tion of  those  earrings,  and  apparently  he  had  lost  them 
by  his  delay. 

' '  A  day  or  two  passed,  and  again  the  Lieutenant  stood 
at  the  window,  and  there  they  were  in  the  comer,  half 
covered  by  newer  and  far  more  conventional  jewelry.  The 
opportunity,  so  strangely  recovered,  as  the  Lieutenant 
thought,  was  not  to  be  resisted,  and  they  were  secured, 


158  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS   DINNER. 

notwithstanding  what  looked  like  reluctance  on  the  part 
of  the  salesman  to  let  them  go. 

"  The  conversation  brought  out  a  fear  that  they  would 
not  be  likely  to  suit,  '  they  were  very  old-fashioned,'  etc., 
etc.,  and  the  inference  was  permitted  that  they  were 
no  part  of  the  stock  imported  from  the  metropolis  to 
do  credit  to  modern  taste,  but  a  parcel  left  for  disposal 
that  had  become  necessary,  rather  than  coveted. 

"Truly  they  resembled  all  choice  works  of  nature  or 
of  art  in  that  the  longer  you  looked  at  them  the  larger 
they  grew,  reaching  out  into  the  unlimited  and  ineffa- 
ble, as  if  the  matter  ordinarily  there  was  only  a  part  of 
finer  existences,  ever  declaring  themselves  in  wholes 
more  and  more  complete. 

"We  have  been  told,  on  very  good  authority,  to  go  to 
the  ant,  learn  of  her  and  be  wise,  wisdom  evidently  per- 
taining to  the  female  in  case  of  this  particular  insect.  But 
the  ant  lays  up  a  good  deal  she  does  not  need,  and  men 
are  just  as  foolish. 

"  The  earrings  had  been  gained,  the  birthda}^  came,  but 
love's  3'oung  dream  had  dissolved  and  left  no  use  for  the 
trinket,  which  catastrophe  belongeth  not  to  this  story-. 

"Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  earrings  w^ere  temporarily 
loaned  to  a  S5'mpathizing  cousin,  who  was  to  take  care  of 
them  till  wanted,  if,  in  the  future,  another  vision  should 
materialize  and  remain  constant  long  enough  for  a  birth- 
day to  put  in  an  appearance." 

Here  the  Colonel's  wife  filled  up  his  glass  as  a  deli- 
cate intimation  that  he  was  getting  too  morose  for  a 
mixed  audience. 

"Thank  you,  my  dear,"  said  the  Colonel;  "I  was  a 
little  melancholy,  thinking  of  poor  Orriker."  Then  the 
Colonel  went  on  :  "  Coming  home  from  church  one  da}-. 
Cousin  Cornelia,  to  her  horror,  discovered  that  one  ear- 


THE  colonel's  story.  159 

ring  was  missing.  Oh,  it  was  in  the  bonnet — it  may  be 
on  the  table — it  might  have  been  dropped  in  the  hall — it 
could  have  fallen  by  the  steps  —it  must  be  in  the  pew — 
certainly. 

"  But  the  search,  notwithstanding  its  thoroughness 
deserved  success,  was  unavailing,  which  was  quite  vexa- 
tious, for  Cousin  Orriker  really  seemed  in  a  fair  way  to 
find  further  use  for  his  investment. 

"When  told  of  the  loss,  he  determined  to  recover  the 
earring,  being  one  of  those  men  who  only  get  inter- 
ested in  impossibilities,  he  hunted  sidewalk,  street  and 
aisle,  the  search  becoming  occupation  for  any  odd  mo- 
ment left  over  from  guard-mounting  and  drill,  which,  in 
those  days,  as  later,  formed  the  whole  duty  of  the  sub- 
altern. 

"  But  the  earring  remained  a  mystery,  like  the  tomb  of 
Moses,  till  some  time  afterwards  the  lyieutenant  found 
himself  on  the  ferry-boat,  thinking  of  the  Seminole  war 
and  looking  at  a  lady.  Although  she  was  not  exactly 
opposite  him,  yet  his  eye  traveled  back  to  her  with  a  per- 
tinacity that  was  annoying,  and  not  to  be  accounted  for  by 
anything  peculiar  in  ribbons  or  complexion,  when  at  last 
he  actually  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  earring  upon  her 
bosom. 

"  It  was  a  delicate  matter  to  pursue,  and  he  was  re- 
duced to  such  investigation  as  he  could  make  in  a  tour  of 
the  cabin,  up  and  down,  with  his  discovery  as  the  objec- 
tive-point. 

"  Sure  enough,  there  it  was,— a  gold  sphere,  swinging 
in  a  crescent,  with  a  tiny  gold  star  as  pendant,  and  the 
curious  inlaid  arabesque  along  both  crescent  and  sphere, 
dotted  with  ruby  and  diamond-dust. 

"  But  it  was  mounted  as  the  head  of  a  shawl-pin,  and 
that,  apparently,  was  its  original  shape. 


160  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

"  Orriker  determined  to  locate  the  bearer,  but  she  went 
to  the  railway-rooms  and  passed  the  gate  at  once  to  the 
cars. 

"The  Lieutenant  gallantly  cut  his  military  duties  for 
that  afternoon,  bought  a  ticket,  as  soon  as  he  could,  for 
the  nearest  outside  station  on  a  venture.  He  was  barely 
in  time  for  a  train  which  he  searched  closely  without 
flushing  his  game,  and  upon  inquiry  learned  that  an 
'  express  '  preceded  the  '  local '  by  a-  minute  or  so,  mak- 
ing its  first  stop  too  far  out  to  admit  of  further  pur- 
suit. 

"He  had  the  pleasure  of  a  wait-over  at  East  Essex 
three  hours  or  so  for  the  down  train,  and  did  not  improve 
the  opportunity  by  any  exhaustive  study  of  the  adver- 
tisement-boards, like  the  traveler  way-bound  at  Didcot 
Junction,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  became  so  inter- 
ested in  the  etymological  possibilities  of  Edward  Chap- 
man Allington,  and  developed  therefrom  a  long  chroni- 
cle of  English  history,  as  my  audience  under  like  cir- 
cumstances are  earnestly  advised  to  do. 

"The  Lieutenant  had  some  trouble  in  making  his 
peace  with  the  post  commander,  to  whom  he  had  been 
reported  absent,  and  who,  he  felt,  was  too  old  a  soldier 
to  take  any  stock  in  argonaut  expeditions  in  these  days 
of  schedules  and  clocks  and  subsidy  steamers.  He  con- 
cluded to  take  the  matter  up  logically.  His  adventure 
began  with  the  .  i  p.m.  ferry-boat.  The  lady  evi- 
dently was  traveling  on  a  season  ticket  ;  a  reason  for 
taking  the  2  p.m.  train  on  one  Wednesday  might  hold 
good  for  another.     He  wpuld  be  on  hand  accordingly. 

"So  he  was  often,  and  with  no  reward.  Looking  up, 
however,  from  a  brown  study  at  a  sudden  stop  of  the 
street-car  one  morning,  there,  right  beside  him,  he  saw 
again  the  sparkle  of  the  earring. 


THE  colonel's  STORY.  •  161 

"At  least  SO  it  seemed.  Sphere,  crescent,  star,  scroll 
and  all  were  visible  enough,  but  unfortunately  on  the 
bosom  of  a  very  different  woman.  He  had  made  no  cata- 
logue of  the  features  of  the  first,  but  certainly  she  was  a 
Saxon,  while  his  present  neighbor  as  certainly  belonged 
to  the  order  of  the  olive.  It  seemed  useless  to  follow  up 
the  clue.  There  must  be  many  individual  ornaments  of 
the  same  type  and  he  had  the  proof  of  it  before  him. 

"  So  the  Lieutenant  took  himself  to  the  oldest  jewelry 
establishment  ^4 thin  his  reach,  left  the  odd  earring  to  be 
made  into  a  charm  for  his  watch-chain  and  encouraged 
conversation  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Goldsmith  examined 
the  specimen  closely  and  became  very  much  interested  in 
it,  pronounced  it  unique  and  said  nothing  of  the  sort  had 
been  on  the  market  within  his  recollection  ;  that,  in  fact, 
it  was  totally  opposed  to  current  styles  and  properly  be- 
longed, not  to  a  modern  ear,  but  to  the Museum. 

"In  this  conclusion  the  Lieutenant  recognized  the 
trade-mark  and  resolved  to  get  back  his  earring  if  it  took 
him  to  Africa.  He  would  put  the  quest  on  as  high  a 
footing  as  the  San  Grael  itself  and  prosecute  it  in  single- 
ness of  heart  without  a  thought  of  tactics,  Tampa  Bay  or 
trial  bj'  court-martial. 

' '  Ever>'  Wednesday  afternoon  found  him  at  the  depot 
with  a  fixed  purpose  to  follow,  though 

"  '  His  path  was  rugged  and  sore, 
Through  tangled  juniper,  beds  of  reeds, 
Through  many  a  fen  where  the  serpent  feeds, 
And  man  never  trod  before.' 

"But  it  was  a  waste  of  time.  His  ticket  for  East  Es- 
sex, good  until  used,  was  as  unprofitable  an  investment 
as  Lamon's  '  Life  of  Lincoln '  or  the  '  Military  Encyclo- 
pedia.' 


162  THE   colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

' '  It  came  to  pass,  however,  that  the  Lieutenant,  in 
walking  up  Willington  Street  some  days  afterwards,  met 
an  open  gate  which  he  kicked  to  rather  unceremoniously- 
just  as  an  elderly  lady  appeared  on  the  steps  beyond  and 
started  down  the  walk.  She  seemed  quite  feeble,  and  the 
Lieutenant,  afraid  that,  in  his  violence,  he  had  thrust  the 
gate  over  its  natural  limit,  pulled  it  back  again  with  con- 
siderable trouble.  He  had  not,  therefore,  noticed  that 
meantime  she  had  been  joined  by  a  much  younger  person 
until,  as  they  passed  out  together,  suddenly  the  shawl- 
pin  flashed  into  view  in  the  dress  of  the  latter,  but  as- 
suredly under  a  face  that  he  had  never  yet  seen. 

"Now  some  faces  grow  upon  you  like  the  contents  of 
a  walnut,  which  are  the  reward  only  of  the  most  search- 
ing examination.  And  some  faces  show  all  they  have  at 
once,  like  a  bunch  of  grapes,  and  some  resemble  persim- 
mons, that  are  never  sweet  until  after  a  touch  of  frost,  and 
give  as  little  promise  in  the  beginning  of  the  result  as  a 
California  nugget  offers  of  one  of  Cellini's  medallions. 

"  Orriker  was  getting  to  be  quite  a  connoisseur  in  phys- 
iognomy, and  his  interest  in  the  shawl-pin  was  almost 
eclipsed  by  his  sudden  wonder  who  could  own  those  eyes, 

"  '  Darker  than  the  depth 
Of  water  stilled  at  even.' 

"  This  appearance,  too,  of  no  less  than  three  shawl-pins, 
all  of  them  composed  apparently  of  the  lost  ear-ring,  could 
onl}^  suggest  to  the  baffled  Lieutenant  uneasy  suspicions 
of  monomania.  Was  it  not  really  getting  to  be  the  case 
that  he  was  projecting  an  ideal  object  of  search  into  an 
objective  existence  upon  the  bosom  of  every  lady  that  he 
met? 

' '  Not  a  little  stunned  by  this  last  encounter  and  re- 
volving the  problem  of  entire  ownership  of  his  wits,  he 


THE  colonel's  STORY.  1G3 

had  gone  some  distance  before  he  recollected  that  it  might 
be  useful  to  mark  down  the  localitj-  of  this  last  surprise. 

"  He  turned  back  and  was  confronted  b}'  a  new  puzzle. 
There  were  no  less  than  three  houses  all  with  like  fronts, 
like  paths  and  like  gates  on  the  same  side  of  the  street, 
and  lyieutenant  Orriker,  more  than  ever  convinced  that 
for  him  all  roads  were  leading  to  Bloomingdale,  went 
home  to  get  among  friends  and  prepare  for  the  worst. 

"By  a  night's  sleep  he  was  greath^  refreshed  and  a 
thorough  wigging  he  received  from  his  captain  for  failure 
to  sign  up  the  clothing-book  gave  him  much  comfort. 
He  was  enabled  to  orient  himself  and  get  a  sure  hold  upon 
his  identity-. 

' '  He  proceeded  to  distribute  a  score  or  so  of  autographs 
over  the  company  records  with  as  much  self-reliance  as 
'  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton '  felt  when  he  signed  an 
earlier  and  quite  as  valuable  a  document.  Satisfied  then 
that  life  was  not  an  illusion  nor  his  sanity  a  dream  in 
spite  of  the  three  shawl-pins,  he  went  into  the  necessan^'- 
inquiries  as  to  the  occupants  of  Willington  Street,  but 
only  to  be  persuaded  that  the  two  ladies  he  had  met  bore 
no  relation  to  any  of  the  houses  in  question  except  that 
of  visitors. 

"Nothing  that  answered  his  description  of  the  pair 
could  be  developed  as  properh-  belonging  to  that  neigh- 
borhood. Perhaps  he  was  too  oblivious  of  the  fact  that 
beauty,  like  the  prophets,  is  without  honor  in  its  own 
countr>%  and  that  everybody  makes  for  himself  his  rain- 
bows, and  beaux yeiix  as  well. 

"  But  during  the  campaign  he  one  day  stepped  into  the 
locai  Dorian's  to  get  something  to  eat.  L,ooking  about  in 
the  unpleasant  quarter-of-an-hour  that  preludes  the  com- 
position of  your  order,  he  suddenly  lost  all  appetite  in  the 
endeavor  to  comprehend  that  but  a  few  feet  from  him 


1C4  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

were  seated  all  three  of  the  Graces.  The  longer  he  looked 
the  more  certain  he  was,  not  only  of  t  he  passenger  on  the 
ferry-boat,  but  also  of  his  neighbor  in  the  street-car,  and, 
above  all,  the  angel  by  the  gate. 

' '  Here  they  were  seated  at  the  same  table,  finishing  their 
lunch,  but  apparently  in  no  hurry.  Devoutly  did  the 
Lieutenant  pray  for  haste  in  his  own  case,  and  delay  in 
theirs,  like  the  parishioners  on  opposite  sides  of  the  county 
who  wanted  rain  and  dry  weather  in  the  same  week. 

"  Finally  they  gathered  up  their  gloves  and  wrappings 
and  a  few  minor  parcels,  and  it  then  became  evident  that 
one  thing  was  lacking— truly  the  key  to  the  whole  posi- 
tion. Nowhere  was  visible  the  shawl-pin — not  a  trace  of 
it  on  the  person  of  any  of  the  three. 

' '  Nevertheless,  he  was  sure  of  the  faces,  and  as  they 
got  up  to  go,  the  Lieutenant  bolted  from  the  premises  and 
awaited  them  at  the  curb. 

"Just  then  the  waiter  appeared  with  an  anxious  face, 
somewhat  relieved  at  sight  of  his  customer,  who  was  do- 
ing considerable  thinking  to  the  minute. 

"  His  first  impulse  was  to  toss  the  boy  a  dollar  under 
plea  of  a  forgotten  engagement.  But  in  that  view  of  the 
case  it  was  impossible  to  wait  upon  the  convenience  of  the 
ladies,  who  were  leisurely  talking  to  one  another,  as  those 
who  had  the  whole  day  before  them. 

"  Orriker  nodded  to  John,  and  said  :  '  All  right,  I'll  be 
there  in  a  moment ;'  but  John  seemed  suspicious,  and 
remained  on  guard  ready  for  emergencies.  The  situation 
was  getting  to  be  noticeable  and  had  to  be  terminated. 
Clearly  he  had  no  warrant  for  introducing  himself. 
American  etiquette,  though  without  its  Brummell  or 
court-guide,  does  not  permit  a  gentleman  to  accost  a 
group  of  girls,  simpl}'  because  of 

"  '  Eyes  that  do  mislead  the  mom,' 


THE  colonel's  STORY.  165 

or  inferences  based  upon  the  supposed  possession  of  curious 
jewelr}'. 

' '  The  ladies  passed  out  of  sight  round  the  comer,  and 
the  Lieutenant  went  back  to  his  chops  and  tomato  sauce. 

"  Making  his  way  to  the  table  previously  occupied  by 
the  three  fair  strangers,  and,  astonished  to  find  that 
instead  of  marble,  it  was  the  plainest  of  pine,  now  they 
had  gone,  he  saw  on  one  of  the  chairs  a  small  parcel, 
which  he  picked  up  and  again  rushed  to  the  street,  while 
the  v/aiter,  turning  in  time  to  see  this  second  hegira,  fol- 
lowed him  with  a  frantic  *  Hold  on,  there  !'  that  brought 
matters  to  a  crisis. 

"To  make  a  first  appearance  in  the  highest  circles  of 
society  as  a  fugitive  from  culinary  complications,  enforced 
by  an  irate  youth  in  a  white  apron,  was  not  to  be  endured. 

' '  The  Lieutenant  pocketed  for  the  present  both  parcel 
and  affront,  brought  back  to  his  lunch  the  absent  air  of  a 
man  much  pre-occupied  by  business  engagements,  hung 
up  his  hat  with  great  deliberation  and  enlarged  his  order 
to  include  a  dessert  and  a  pint  of  champagne,  in  order  that 
the  establishment  might  be  properlj-  impressed  with  the 
ways  usual  to  him  when  he  had  time  to  spare. 

"  In  fact  he  devoted  the  next  hour  in  toying  with  his 
meat  and  sipping  the  cider.  Then  he  handed  the  waiter 
a  three-dollar  bill,  ignored  the  change  as  proof  that  he 
owned  more  money  than  he  knew  what  to  do  with,  and 
departed,  having  only  succeeded  in  convincing  the  pro- 
prietor of  this  particular  resort  that  he  was  a  man  to  be 
kept  under  the  closest  obser\'ation  hereafter. 

"  ATcanwhile  the  ladies  had  resumed  their  shopping. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  a  soda-water  fountain  came  in  their 
way,  and  there  being  an  hour  still  to  wait,  they  decided 
to  spend  it  in  a  photograph-galler^'.  so  reaching  the  rail- 
road-station just  in  time  for  the  4  o'clock  express. 


166       THE  colonel's  Christmas  dinner. 

"But  now  the  loss  of  the  parcel  was  first  discovered, 
with  mutual  exclamations  of  surprise  and  alarm.  Each 
was  sure  the  other  had  it,  and  there  was  the  familiar  search 
of  pockets  and  reticules.  '  Oh  !  here  it  is  ! — no — I  remem- 
ber now— this  is  it — where  can  it  be  ?' 

"  Train  or  parcel,  which  ?  The  result  was,  apparently, 
a  change  of  programme — Miss  Louise  to  go  to  the  gallery, 
Miss  Mary  to  the  soda-water  man,  and  Miss  Jane  to  the 
store,  all  to  meet  at  the  lunch-rooms,  as  they  all  duly  did, 
with  no  success. 

'  'After  a  brief  discussion  the  proprietor  and  his  assistant, 
recollecting  all  that  happened,  declared  their  belief  that 
the  young  fellow  with  the  three-dollar  bill  and  the  new 
moustache  was  responsible  for  the  trouble,  on  the  satisfac- 
tory- ground  that  if  two  odd  things  occur  in  the  course  of 
an  hour,  one  must  be  the  cause  of  the  other. 

"  Now  follows  a  strange  thing.  Lieutenant  Orriker  had 
been  looking  for  an  earring,  and  in  a  few  days  had  found 
at  least  three  ;  but  here  were  six  people  hunting  one  an- 
other :  the  waiter  and  Dorlon  after  the  5^oung  fellow  with 
the  new  moustache ;  the  ladies  carefully  scrutinizing 
everj^  wearer  of  that  appendage,  and  Orriker  himself 
patiently  devoting  his  leisure  to  the  pursuit  of  the  pretty 
girl  with  the  blue  eyes,  the  beautiful  girl  with  the  black 
eyes  and  that  rare  epitome  of  ever)'thing  lovely,  with 
eyes  that  beggared  Solomon's  Song,  deeper  than  the 
speculations  of  Plato,  darker  than  the  iambics  of  Ly- 
cophron,  sweeter  than  the  strains  of  the  great  god  Pan, 
when 

"  '  The  sun  on  the  hill  forgot  to  die 

And  the  lilies  revived,  and  the  dragon-fly 
Came  back  to  dream  on  the  river/ 

and  all  in  vain, 

"The  Lieutenant    had    \'isited    the    railway  station, 


THE  colonel's  STORY.  167 

coming,  of  course,  bj-  one  door  as  the  girls  left  by  the 
other.  Soda  water  and  photographs  were  peculiarities  of 
feminine  interest  that  had  so  far  escaped  his  analysis, 
and  as  for  the  lunch-rooms,  he  was  creditably  fighting 
the  doubt  whether  he  could  ever  redeem  his  self-respect 
without  cuffing  that  waiter  into  some  appreciation  of 
what  a  United  States  Anny  officer  really  was. 

' '  But  the  astonishment  of  the  Lieutenant  may  be  im- 
agined when,  on  opening  the  parcel,  he  found — the  shawl- 
pin  itself ! 

"  It  was,  in  every  particular,  the  duplicate  of  the  ear- 
ring now  swinging  upon  his  watch-chain,  and  had  evi- 
dently been  modified  from  its  original  purpose  to  use  as 
a  pin,  with  slight  additions,  that  had  recently  undergone 
repair. 

"The  box  into  which  it  had  been  put  bore  no  name, 
nor  was  there  any  trace  of  ownership  upon  the  wrapper 
save  a  delicate  reminiscence  of  wild-flowers  that  subse- 
quently became  very  familiar  to  Lieutenant  Orriker. ' ' 

It  was  at  this  stage  of  the  stor^-  that  the  Adjutant 
winked  at  the  Quartermaster's  wife,  who  filliped  back  a 
crumb  of  bread  with  such  accuracy  that  it  knocked  ofiF 
the  Assistant-Surgeon's  eye-glasses,  which  he  duly  re- 
membered in  the  ver}-  next  prescription  he  compounded 
for  that  persistent  invalid. 

"  The  discussion  over  the  loss  of  the  parcel,"  continued 
the  Colonel,  "grew  very  interesting.  Miss  Mary  was 
confident  she  had  left  it  on  the  soda-water  counter.  Miss 
Louise  recollected  seeing  it  at  the  photograph  galler>^ 
and  Miss  Jane  knew  for  a  certainty  that  it  was  at  one 
time  lying  by  a  box  of  ribbons  on  the  end  desk  of  the 
store.  In  fact.  Miss  Jane  as  often  as  once  a  week  there- 
after made  sly  visits  to  the  suspected  spot,  and  glared 
suspiciously  at  the  pale  maiden  with  tan-colored  braids 


168  THE   colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

who  was  ill  charge,  but  no  scarf-pin  ever  came  into 
view. 

' '  It  might  be  as  well  to  state  that  Miss  Jane  lived  in 
town.  Miss  Louise  resided  some  distance  out  on  the 
Manchester  and  Essex  Railroad,  at  Palafox  Park,  while 
Miss  Mary  belonged  to  our  side  of  the  Potomac,  but  was 
visiting  now  with  one  and  now  with  another  cousin,  in- 
cluding Miss  Jane  and  Louise,  and  I  don't  know  how 
many  more,  for  if,  with  the  limited  facilities  afforded  by 
devotion  to  business  in  the  North,  a  Tremont  Street  man 
might  walk  from  Boston  to  Sacramento  without  finding 
a  relative  on  the  road,  a  Roanoaker,  as  the  result  of  the 
leisure  and  mint-juleps  of  the  Old  Dominion,  could  take  a 
trip  to  the  Gulf  and  claim  kin  on  every  plantation  he 
crossed. 

"  Sure  enough,  Lieutenant  Orriker  had  found  the  ear- 
ring, but  no  peace  of  mind  came  with  it.  What  is  sought 
for  ceases  to  please  when  secured.  But  it  was  those  won- 
derful eyes  that  turned  night  into  day  and  made  a  har- 
vest moon  as  dull  as  a  Sundaj'-school  library  or  an  after- 
noon in  Alexandria. 

"  It  so  happened  that  shortly  after  these  events  an  in- 
vitation from  an  adjoining  town  was  extended  to  the 
troops  at  the  station  of  the  Lieutenant,  to  participate  in 
the  ceremonies  of  Inauguration  Day,  and  he  himself  was 
included  in  the  detail  assigned  to  this  amusement. 

"Beside  the  ride,  it  involved  some  marching  and  a 
dinner,  as  well  as  opportunity  for  a  ball  that  was  an  ir- 
regular appendix  to  the  main  affair,  out  of  deference  to 
the  instincts  of  the  rural  elector,  who  drew  the  line  at 
quadrilles  and  the  waltz,  of  which  he  knew  little,  so  as  to 
include  negro  minstrels,  and  an  occasional  circus,  where 
he  felt  more  at  home. 

"  No  wine  was  on  the  table — another  evidence  of  the 
brotherly  consideration  that  regulates  the  general  appetite 


THE  colonel's  STORY.  169 

by  individual  prejudice,  or,  in  view  of  the  'moral  vote,' 
sips  its  champagne  in  the  closet  and  shuts  ofif  the  beer  on 
the  street. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  the  inauguration  festivi- 
ties were  not  especially  attractive  to  the  military  mind, 
but  were  patiently  gone  through  with,  like  official  boards 
and  tooth-pulling,  as  part  of  the  discipline  of  life. 

"  The  chairman  of  the  committee  in  charge  of  this  par- 
ticular celebration  was,  however,  something  of  a  soldier 
himself.  His  grandfather  had  serv^ed  in  the  old  French 
war,  and  the  present  Major  Moody  felt  the  drum  and  fife 
throbbing  in  his  own  blood,  and  practiced  the  manual  of 
arms  up  in  the  ancestral  garret,  as  laid  down  in  the  tac- 
tics of  1S12-15,  having  "first  carefully  locked  the  door  to 
prevent  any  intrusion  upon  this  unhallowed  sport. 

' '  He  w^as  determined  that  the  army  folks  who  stayed  to 
dinner  should  understand  that  he  had  outgrowm  local 
superstitions,  and  was  posted  upon  all  professional  amen- 
ities ;  so,  at  the  close  of  the  parade,  he  touched  the  officers 
upon  the  shoulder  and  invited  them  '  up-stairs. ' 

"One  or  two  more  of  the  chief  people,  perhaps  the 
most  bewilderingly  solemn  of  all  that  solemn  throng,  fell 
out  and  followed  after,  and  Orriker  was  rather  appalled, 
expecting  to  encounter  nothing  but  a  corpse  somewhere 
aloft,  for  there  was  a  tedious  journey  dowm  one  hallway 
and  up  another,  past  this  corner  and  that,  until  they  all 
filed  into  a  spare  room  in  the  back  attic,  and  Major  Moody 
reverently  lifted  a  napkin  and  disclosed  half  a  dozen  glasses 
and  three  decanters  of  whisky,  brandy  and  Madeira. 

"'I  know  something  about  campaigning,'  said  the 
Major,  '  and  what  soldiers  want ;  just  step  up,  gentlemen, 
and  help  yourselves— oh,  excuse  me,  Captain,  Lieuten- 
ant, this  is  Squire  Sanders,  one  of  our  old  townsmen,  and 
this  is  neighbor  Pulsifer  ;  now,  what  will  you  take  ? ' 
8 


170  THE  COLONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

"  '  Thank  you,  Major,'  replied  Captain  Gilson  ;  '  I  am 
sorry  j'ou  should  have  taken  all  this  trouble  ;  I  never 
drink  anything,  but  I  shall  avail  myself  of  your  hospital- 
ity to-day — the  wine,  if  you  please — Mr.  Orriker,  let  me 
help  you — Mr.  Clute,  let  me  fill  your  glass.' 

"  Now  this  was  a  bold  stroke  on  the  part  of  the  Cap- 
tain, who  knew  that  neither  of  his  Lieutenants,  if  left  to 
themselves,  would  take  a  drop  ;  but  he  was  determined  so 
great  an  effort  to  gratify  the  supposed  tastes  of  strangers 
in  a  strange  land  should  not  be  wholly  unrewarded. 

"  '  Come,  squire,  come  neighbor  Pulsifer,  you  will  join 
us.' 

"'Why,  Moody,  ah,  I  should  prefer  a  little  of  the 
brandy,  but ' 

"  '  We  will  both  take  brandy,'  interrupted  Captain  Gil- 
son,  gallantly  coming  to  the  rescue  and  anxious  the  old 
gentleman  should  make  the  most  of  so  rare  a  chance, 
'allow  me  the  pleasure,'  and  four  tumblers  were  filled 
with  three  good  fingers  of  something  that  had  been  in 
the  Major's  cellar  from  before  the  time  of  Jeflferson's  em- 
bargo  ' ' 

"About  1807."  murmured  the  Assistant-Surgeon  to 
himself ;   ' '  how  nice  it  would  be  now ' ' 

"  Good,  Doctor  ;  I'm  thirsty,  too,"  replied  the  Colonel, 
and,  in  due  time,  continued — 

' '  Well — on  the  return  of  the  Heraclidse,  that  is,  when 
Orriker  went  down-stairs,  right  in  the  parlor  doorway  he 
met  the  girl  that  had  onl}-  blue  eyes,  beautiful,  of 
course,  and  easier  identified  as  Miss  Jane. 

"  He  was  in  his  uniform,  which  would  have  prevented 
any  recognition  by  her  ;  but  there  were  other  difficulties. 
That  short  mustache  which  so  impressed  the  waiter,  and 
by  which  he  was  handed  down  in  chop-house  annals,  had 
been  sacrified  to  a  communication  from  the  Post  Adjutant, 


THE  COLONEL'S   STORY.  171 

calling  his  attention  to  the  predecessor  of  paragraph 
1662,  A.  R.,  and  the  lyieutenant's  face  was  as  smooth  as 
Pope's  poetry. 

"  '  May  I  speak  to  j'ou  one  moment  ?  '  said  he,  with  the 
most  academic  of  bows  to  Miss  Jane  ;  '  I  cannot  be  mis- 
taken, I  think  ;  I  saw  you  in  company  with  two  ladies  at 
Mr.  Pattycake's  some  time  ago.  You  left  there  a  small 
parcel,  which  I  found  and  tried  to  return,  but  was  unable 
to  discover  j-ou.' 

"  '  I  believe  we  left  a  parcel  at  Mr.  Draper's,'  said  Miss 
Jane,  gracious,  but  positive,  and  by  no  means  averse  to  a 
discussion  of  the  question  with  a  young  man  who  wore  a 
uniform  as  though  he  had  never  worn  anything  else, 

"  '  Possibly,  but  I  found  it  at  the  lunch-rooms,  a  shawl- 
pin.' 

"  '  Oh  !  I  am  so  glad  ;  we  were  afraid  it  was  lost.' 

"  '  If  you  will  be  kind  enough  to  give  me  your  address 
I  will  see  to  its  return — I  am  ver>^  sorry  I  cannot  stay  ; 
my  company  leaves  on  the  first  train ' 

'"And  the  ball?' 

"  '  Oh  !  that's  for  Captain  Gilson  and  Mr.  Clute  ;  they 
remain.' 

"  '  How  disagreeable— for  you.' 

' '  '  Never  regretted  anything  more. ' 

"  But  the  Lieutenant  went  home  content.  Miss  Jane 
^;iad  told  him  the  shawl-pin  wan  Miss  Mary's.  It  could 
be  left  either  in  town,  at  96  Willington  Street,  or  at  Pala- 
fox  Park,  where  Miss  Louise  and  Miss  Mary  were  stay- 
ing. In  fact,  they  were  all  to  be  together  there  the  next 
week,  and  would  be  glad  to  see  Mr.  Orriker  should  his 
duties  leave  him  time,  as  was  hardly  to  be  supposed. 

"Mr.  Orriker  was  very  decidedly  of  the  opinion  that 
with  Palafox  Park  in  prospect,  his  duties  would  have  to 
take  care  of  themselves,  and  so  stated,  with  an  emphasis 


172  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

that  had  not  been  so  very  visible  where  Williiigton  Street 
was  concerned. 

"  It  might  be  as  well  to  note  that  Miss  Jane  had  views 
on  art  that  were  incompatible  with  anything  more  than 
toleration  of  young  men,  except  so  far  as  a  uniform  bright- 
ened up  the  landscape  and  afforded  material  for  effective 
studies  of  color. 

"Miss  Louise  was  fond  of  experimenting  with  every 
variety  of  the  animal,  just  as  Majendie  likes  to  devote  his 
leisure  to  rabbits,  and  Miss  Mary  had  serious  ideas  of  life 
and  doubted  the  advisability  of  marriage  with  anybody 
under  a  bishop. 

' '  The  prospect  for  Orriker  is  by  no  means  so  roseate  as 
he  thinks. 

"  However,  he  appeared  at  the  Park  Monday  morning, 
as  there  was  no  Sunday  train,  and  Saturday  afternoon 
seemed  a  little  premature." 

*|C  *fC  *|C  5jC  ^  5|C  yfi  5fC  ^  ^f> 

The  Colonel  shoved  his  chair  back  from  the  table. 
There  was  a  general  burst  of  expostulation,  to  which  that 
worthy  officer  listened  with  an  air  of  placid  surprise,  but 
insisted  that  he  had  taken  the  story  to  the  limits  of  his 
own  knowledge,  and  that  he  was  opposed  to  historical 
fiction,  or  mixed  aliment  of  all  sorts. 

"Why,  Colonel,"  observed  the  Major,  "  j-ou  remind  me 
of  the  last  war. ' ' 

"Well,  Major,  you  are  alwaj^s  logical,  even  in  j-our 
reminiscences;  please  explain." 

"You  started  out  on  a  question  of  search,  and  you  re- 
tire without  any  settlement  of  the  issue. ' ' 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  replied  the  Colonel,  "I  refer 
everybody  to  my  wife.  She  knows  the  sequel  better  than 
I  do.  I  cannot  express  to  3^ou  how  flattered  I  am  at  the 
interest  you  apparently  feel  in  Orriker' s  earrings.     I  am 


THE  colonel's  STORY.  173 

going  into  the  library  to  smoke.  Those  of  you  who  pre- 
fer cigars  can  join  me.  Those  who  prefer  the  storj-  will 
of  course  remain." 

Now  this  was  cruel,  but  for  the  credit  of  the  regiment 
we  are  glad  to  be  able  to  say  that  the  Colonel  found  the 
library-  by  no  means  crowded.  Xot  a  man  budged  except 
the  Adjutant,  who  knew  something  about  the  brand  of 
cigar  the  Colonel  used,  and  would  not  have  postponed 
the  chance  of  one  for  Scheherazade  herself. 

The  madam  conceded  the  Adjutant  to  the  pecularities 
of  his  taste  and  station,  and,  compelled  by  the  presence  of 
the  rest,  took  up  the  ston,-  : 

' '  These  cousins  were  all  well  known  to  me,  and  it  may 
relieve  your  curiosity  if  I  say  that  Miss  Jane  abandoned 
art,  at  the  invitation  of  a  professor  of  mathematics,  who 
married  her,  and  died  after  working  out  the  properties  of 
a  newly-discovered  curve,  in  an  equation  eight  hundred 
pages  long. 

* '  She  subsequentl)'  became  the  wife  of  a  celebrated 
authority  in  social  statistics,  and  is  now  the  author  of 
probably  the  best  cook-book  written,  since  it  deals  with 
exact  quantities,  complete  rules  and  ordinar)'  material. 

"  Miss  Louise  married  a  lieutenant  in  the  navy,  with  a 
view  of  having  some  time  to  herself  while  he  was  occa- 
sionally earning  his  three  years'  sea-pay,  and  as  for  Miss 
Mar>' — her  bishop  remained  behind  the  ivory  gate." 

" /7Z  partibus  infidel hivi,'"  murmured  the  Doctor.  But 
the  madam  thought  he  was  dreaming  about  some  pre- 
scription, and  so  left  him  to  his  scruples  and  drams. 

"Nevertheless,"  said  she,  "Lieutenant  Orriker  had  a 
very  pleasant  visit  at  Palafox  Park,  judging  from  the 
number  of  times  it  was  repeated. 

"  The  puzzling  manifestations  of  the  lost  earring  were 
easily  explained,  inasmuch  as  when  extended  into  a  shawl- 


174  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

pill  it  became  the  coinmon  property  of  the  three  cousins, 
by  whom  it  was  regarded  as  what  is  now  called  a  mascot, 
owing  to  the  myster}-  attending  its  first  appearance. 

"  It  was  found  one  morning  at  the  foot  of  the  stairway, 
near  the  shawl-rack  and  umbrella-stand. 

"  Nobody  knew  anything  about  it  and  nothing  could  be 
ascertained,  so  it  was  finally  thought  possible  it  had  been 
introduced  into  the  house  by  the  ghost  of  Miss  Mary's 
godmother,  who  had  recently  died  in  a  far-away  land  and 
who  was  reputed  to  have  had,  at  least,  two  weaknesses, 
a  fondness  for  Miss  Mary,  and  a  craze  for  collecting  bijou- 
terie, pure  and  undefiled,  by  the  methods  and  tastes  of  a 
commercial  and  manufacturing  age,  all  of  whose  work, 
whether  belonging  to  office  or  ornament,  smacks  of 
petroleum. 

' '  It  was  very  unpleasant  for  Mr.  Orriker  to  shatter  any 
of  the  romantic  ideals  of  Palafox  Park,  but  he  submitted 
to  their  investigation  the  charm  he  wore  upon  his  watch- 
chain,  and  it  seemed  evident  enough  that  it  was  the  dupli- 
cate of  the  pin  and  with  it  had  constituted  the  purchase 
formerly  made  by  that  gentleman. 

"  Nevertheless  Aunt  Mary — not  the  cousin,  but  a  name- 
sake of  an  older  generation — always  affirmed  that  these 
same  earrings  had  once  belonged  to  the  family,  and  main- 
tained a  silence  as  to  their  history  that  was  very  provok- 
ing, but  proof  to  all  solicitation. 

' '  The  girls  at  last  admitted  that  if  the  dream  of  the  god- 
mother had  to  be  given  up,  the  Lieutenant  would  not  be 
an  altogether  unsatisfactory^  substitute  ;  but  he  was  re- 
quired to  account  for  the  transfer  by  any  less  than  super- 
natural means  of  the  earring  from  the  Barracks  on  the 
island  to  Palafox  Park. 

"The  Lieutenant  undertook  the  investigation,  but  re- 
solved to  conduct  it  after  the  manner  of  Penelope,   and 


THE  COLONEL'S  STORY.  175 

women  generally,  who  never  finish  anj'thing  in  order  to 
always  have  something  to  do. 

"  He  ver>'  soon  satisfied  himself  that  Cousin  Jane  had  on 
several  occasions  visited  the  island  where  was  located  the 
Church  of  St.  Thomas-by-the-sea.  This  was  quite  a 
notorious  institution  for  a  variety  of  reasons.  Its  rector 
was  young  and  handsome  ;  its  patrons,  wealthy  and  gen- 
erous. The  harmonies  in  colored  glass  that  abounded  in 
its  walls,  the  voices  of  singing  men  and  singing  women, 
that  came  down  from  the  galleries  above,  or  stole  in  upon 
you  through  the  arches  and  cloisters  below,  the  decora- 
tions and  the  embroidery  on  the  sacred,  and  the  milli- 
nery and  renown  on  the  profane  side  of  the  chancel,  made 
one  of  the  most  thoroughly  picturesque  and  attractive 
interiors  to  be  found  in  the  diocese. 

"  Perhaps  it  was  not  so  much  a  place  to  tempt  a  sinful 
man  to  pray  for  mercy  as  a  place  of  restful  repose,  where 
one  could  recline  upon  velvet  and  think  of  his  faith  or  for- 
tune, just  as  predominated  the  wail  of  a  litany  or  the 
voluptuous  swell  of  a  hallelujah, 

"Thus  it  happened  that  the  aspirations  of  the  artist  and 
the  taste  of  the  musician  found  much  satisfaction  at 
Saint  Thomas-by-the-sea,  and  so  were  brought  together 
Cousin  Jane  and  that  Cousin  Cornelia  of  previous  mention, 
wholly  unknown  to  and  unconscious  of  one  another  then, 
though  one  chanced  to  occupy  pew  31,  and  the  other  pew 
33,  on  the  Easter  Sunday  of  the  year  to  which  this  story 
belongs. 

"  This  was  a  mere  matter  of  dates,  which  the  Lieuten- 
ant quietly  established,  as  well  as  the  further  fact  that 
Cousin  Mary  arrived,  as  arranged,  at  Palafox  Park  on 
the  very  Sunday  night  in  question,  where  she  was  joined 
by  Cousin  Jane,  and  where,  the  next  morning,  the  ear- 
ring was  found. 


176  THE   colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

"  But  Mr.  Orriker  afterwards  said  he  saw  no  reason  for 
obtruding  these  facts,  since,  evening  after  evening,  the 
cousins  resolved  themselves  into  a  committee  of  ways  and 
means  upon  the  problem,  and  always  preferred  to  accept 
the  benevolent  interference  of  the  godmother,  who  was 
superior  to  any  difficulties  of  time  and  space,  and  had  no 
further  use  for  articles  that  are  no  part  of  spiritual  furni- 
ture. 

"  True,  the  intention  was  balked  of  its  completeness  by 
the  absence  of  the  other  ear-ring,  but  one  should  not  be 
too  avaricious  in  dealing  with  the  Immortals.  Content 
with  what  they  give  is  the  condition  of  the  process,  and 
the  story  of  the  three  wishes  by  which  the  peasant  and 
his  wife  found  themselves,  after  all,  no  better  off  than 
before,  is  a  lesson  in  prayer  not  to  be  forgotten. 

"  So  the  girls  waited,  in  the  patience  of  true  faith,  for 
the  fulfillment  of  the  business,  and  they  were  rewarded, 
even  beyond  their  expectations,  and,  as  is  the  celestial 
manner,  on  a  wholly  different  scale,  which  is  the  weak 
point  of  the  drama  of  Job,  where  sheep,  oxen,  camels, 
sons  and  daughters  are  taken  awa}^  to  be  replaced,  ap- 
parently to  the  satisfaction  of  the  patriarch,  by  more 
sheep,  more  oxen,  more  camels,  more  sons  and  more 
daughters. 

"  But  if  James  die,  doth  George  replace  him  ?  David 
knew  better  when  he  said,  '  Oh,  Absalom,  my  son  Absa- 
lom, would  God  I  had  died  for  thee,  oh,  Absalom,  my 
son.' 

"  The  earring  then  on  one  side  is  clearly  traced  to  pew 
31  and  Miss  Jane  from  pew  33  to  Palafox  Park,  where,  the 
same  day,  the  ornament  is  subsequently  found,  conveyed 
thither  in  some  hospitable  fold  of  the  wrapping  that  re- 
ceived it  on  its  detachment  from  Cousin  Cornelia's  ear. 
"  Naturally  at  this  point  ends  the  stor}-." 
"  I  have  my  doubts,"  said  the  Major,  "about  this  last 


THE  colonel's  story.  177 

part  of  the  business,  the  carriage  of  the  earring  to  Pala- 
fox  Park." 

"Well,"  replied  the  madam,  "as  to  the  probabilities 
of  that  I  am  willing  the}-  should  be  tested  by  the  results 
of  an  accident  with  which  you  are  all  familiar.  Did  you, 
Major,  ever  lose  a  collar-button  ?  " 

"  Certainly — not  a  week  ago." 

' '  Where  did  you  find  it  ?  " 

"  It  was — let  me  see — "  Here  the  Major  was  suddenly 
seized  with  a  violent  fit  of  coughing.  He  was  vigorously 
thumped  on  the  back  in  that  insane  way  people  have 
when  certain  something  must  be  done  and  ignorant  of 
exactly  what  to  do. 

In  great  seeming  distress  the  Major  rushed  from  the 
room,  and  in  a  few  minutes  thereafter_could  have  been 
seen  with  the  Colonel,  still  quite  red  in  the  face,  but  re- 
lieved in  mind,  and  placidly  smoking  a  Reina  Victoria. 

"I  wonder  what  did  become  of  the  collar-button," 
muttered  the  Assistant-Surgeon. 

But  nobody  ever  knew,  except  the  Major's  man,  who 
discovered  it  where  it  was  never  designed  to  be;  but,  as  was 
said  of  Vespasian's  silver,  recovered  from  a  similar  local- 
ity, non  olet . 

"Perhaps,"  interposed  the  madam,  "  some  other  gen- 
tleman has  doubts " 

"Certainly  I  could  have  none  after  my  experience," 
replied  one  of  the  younger  captains.  ' '  I  was  struggling 
with  my  collar-button  the  other  morning  when  it  sud- 
denly slipped  out  of  my  fingers  and  disappeared. 

"  I  hunted  everj^where,  the  more  earnestly  since  I  had 
no  other,  and  was  dressing  against  time  for  the  early 
train  to  town.  At  last  I  had  to  content  myself  with  a 
pin,  which  narrowly  missed  the  jugular,  as  I  wickedly 
thrust  it  into  my  shirt. 


178  THK   colonel's  CHRISTMAS   DINNER. 

"  But  that  was  only  a  beginning  of  misery.  My  foot 
pained  me  all  day  long,  and  spoilt  a  trip  among  the  book- 
stores to  which  I  had  been  looking  forward  for  a  month, 
and  saving  up  enough  for  the  especial  purpose  of  securing 
a  two  volume  edition  of  Gen.  Henry  I^ee's  Memoirs,  with 
notes  on  the  margin,  written,  as  I  had  reason  to  suppose, 
by  General  Sumter. 

"That  evening  when  I  reached  home  without  my 
prize,  which  had  been  disposed  of  just  a  moment  before 
I  hobbled  into  the  place,  I  unearthed  the  missing  button 
from  the  toe  of  my  boot. 

' '  I  keep  a  card  of  them  now  stuck  into  the  looking- 
glass." 

"It  would  seem,"  added  the  madam,  "that  buttons 
may  be  as  evasive  as  earrings. ' ' 

"  I  feel,"  interrupted  one  of  the  senior  lieutenants,  "  I 
feel  as  though  I  ought  to  contribute  a  remark  or  two  on 
this  occasion.  L,ike  the  saint  who  carried  his  own  head, 
so  with  the  woman  who  unconsciously  became  the  pos- 
sessor of  her  neighbor's  earring,  it  is  only  the  first  step 
that  makes  the  trouble.  Once  at  large,  these  trinkets  are 
amenable  neither  to  law  nor  logic.  I  have  my  doubts 
about  guardian  angels,  but  am  clear  as  to  the  exist- 
ence of  imps  of  depravity  charged  to  try  the  tempers  of 
men.  The  toilet  and  the  desk  are  their  favorite  fields  of 
operation.  Not  a  pin,  for  instance,  can  be  found  on  the 
cushion,  but  a  trip  in  bare  feet  over  the  floor  detects  any 
number  of  them. 

"A  memorandum  suddenly  disappears  that  you  know 
you  have  seen  but  a  moment  before.  The  hunt  for  it 
wastes  a  half-hour,  and,  after  an  explosion  that  gives 
the  devil  a  safe  mortgage  upon  your  soul,  behold  !  the 
niemorandum  appears  right  before  you,  looking  more 
innocent  than  a  rose-bud. 


THE  colonel's  STORY.  179 

"I,  too,  have  a  collar-button,  onl}-  one  incident  in  the 
histor>'  of  which  I  \yI11  give  this  afternoon.  It  vanished 
when  under  process  of  adjustment,  and  there  was  nothing 
to  do  but  find  it,  unless  I  remained  in  bed,  which  was 
impossible,  for  it  was  the  last  of  the  month,  with  mus- 
ter and  inspection  pending,  as  well  as  a  visit  to  the  pay- 
master and  a  subsequent  lunch  with  my  compadre. 

"  I  am  frequently  complimented  on  my  good  nature 
and  sagacity,  and  I  felt  these  were  both  at  stake,  and  re- 
solved to  be  firm  and  circumspect.  The  first  thing  to 
do  was  to  undress  and  examine  carefully  each  article  of 
my  clothing,  which  I  did,  pleasantly  humming  to  myself : 
'  We  may  be  happy  j-et.' 

' '  It  was  useless,  so  I  turned  to  the  bed  and  took  off 
spread,  blanket  and  sheet,  and  deposited  them  in  the 
middle  of  the  floor,  still  continuing  the  old  familiar 
strain. 

"Then  I  closely  examined  the  six  sides  of  the  mat- 
tress, not  forgetting  the  comers  nor  the  melody. 

"Giving  my  attention  to  the  Hghter  articles  of  furni- 
ture in  the  vicinity,  I  piled  them  up,  after  examination, 
upon  the  mattress.  Drawing  my  sword,  I  began  to  rake 
under  the  heavier  pieces,  but  I  was  too  tired  to  sing  and 
out  on  the  parade  I  could  hear  muster  in  progress. 

"  My  temper  threatened  to  rise,  and  I  felt  that  I  must 
rely  upon  bodily  exercise  to  keep  down  spiritual  rebellion, 
so  I  struck  up, 

"  '  Oh,  won't  it  be  joyful,  joyful,  joyful, 
When  we  meet  to  part  no  more,' 

and  commenced  to  kick  the  smaller  impediments  about 
the  room. 

"Just  here  the  door  opened  and  my  wife  appeared. 
Edwin,  oh,  Edwin,'  she  shrieked,  and  rushed  down- 
stairs to  send  for  the  Doctor.     Circumstances  seemed  to 


180  THE  colonel's  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

be  passing  beyond  my  control.  I  stuck  my  sword  into 
the  mattress,  wrapped  myself  up  in  some  of  the  drapery 
and  sat  down  on  the  washstand.  I  ought  to  state  here 
that  I  am  troubled  with //j'/>(?r^5///^^/a,  and  my  wife  knew 
that  at  this  time  I  was  living  mainly  upon  hot  water  in 
the  morning  and  sage  tea  at  night. 

"  Pretty  soon  I  saw  her  peering  anxiously  over  the 
banisters  and  I  remarked  in  my  mildest  manner,  '  Put- 
ting aside  any  incompleteness  in  the  way  of  wardrobe, 
my  dear  Isabella,  I  may  truthfully  state  that  I  am  glad 
to  see  you. ' 
.    "  '  Edwin,  what  is  the  matter  ! ' 

"  '  Rest  assured  I  am  neither  mad  nor  drunk.  I  have 
lost  my  collar-button,  and  am  trying  to  find  it.' 

"The  door-bell  rang  and  m}'  wife  went  down  to  dispose 
of  the  Doctor.  She  said  she  had  an  intermittent  head- 
ache, acute  pain  at  brief  intervals  over  the  left  eyebrow. 
The  Doctor  advised  spectacles  and  diet,  with  a  cessation 
of  all  literary  labor,  which  was  a  shrewd  inference  on 
his  part,  from  the  contents  of  the  table,  consisting  of  a 
cook-book,  upon— ah — 'How  to  make  bread,'  and  an 
order  for  Lord  &  Taylor,  which  the  Doctor  evidently  mis- 
took for  the  manuscript  of  a  novel. 

"He  promised  to  send  over  a  lotion  for  topical  applica- 
tion, which  he  did,  and  my  wife  presented  it  to  the  cook, 
who  was  always  having  'miseries,'  and  who  always  felt 
better  after  a  little  medicine. 

"When  my  wife  came  back  I  was  putting  things  to 
rights.  She  loaned  me  her  collar-button  and  I  went  over 
to  explain  my  absence  to  the  commanding  officer.  He 
was  very  grave  at  first,  but  the  moment  I  mentioned  my 
accident  he  broke  down  completely.  'That  will  do,' 
said  he ;  'don't  say  any  more.  I  have  been  there  my- 
self.' 


THE  colonel's  STORY.  181 

"  Late  the  next  day,  happening  to  be  in  the  metropo- 
lis, I  felt  thirsty  and  went  into  Stewart's  to  get  a  glass  of 
iced  milk.  I  knew  I  had  some  small  change  in  my  pocket 
and  pulled  out  a  handful  of  the  contents  to  get  a  quarter, 
and  there  among  keys,  dimes  and  sea-beans — there,  con- 
spicuously on  top  of  ever>'thing,  was  my  collar-button. 
That  is  all  I  have  to  say.'  " 

"  Maj- 1  ask  a  question  ?" 

This  came  from  a  lieutenant  who,  by  virtue  of  frequent 
detail  as  j  udge  advocate,  had  acquired  a  chronic  interrog- 
ative attitude. 

"Certainly." 

' '  Between  the  morning  of  j'our  adventure  and  the  time 
of  the  iced — milk,  had  you  not  changed  j'our  dress?" 

"  Of  course." 

' '  And  you  have  no  explanations  to  offer  as  to  the  be- 
havior of  the  collar-button  in  this  transfer  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  it  was  maliciously  at  the  bottom  of  every- 
thing then." 

* '  One  moment,  if  you  please, ' '  said  the  Assistant-Sur- 
geon. "  If  I  heard  rightly,  you  mentioned  sea  beans  as 
part  of  the  produce  of  your  pocket. ' ' 

"I  did." 

"  I  wish  I  understood  why  anybody  should  burden  him- 
self with  such  things. ' ' 

"As  a  sure  specific  against  rheumatism." 

"  Is  it  possible  you  can  believe  that." 

"  All  I  know  is  that  since  I  carried  them,  I  have  never 
had  an  attack." 

But  the  Assistant  was  not  an  adept  in  cross-examina- 
tion. 

"  Your  experience,  gentlemen,"  interposed  the  madam, 
"will,  I  think,  convince  you  that  there  was  nothing  im- 
probable in  the  undesigned  carriage  of  the  ear-rings  from 
St.  Thomas-by-the-sea  to  Palafox  Park." 


182  THE  COLONEL'S  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

The  Judge  Advocate,  whose  forehead  ran  back  into  his 
occiput  like  a  glacier  bisecting  an  Alpine  slope,  still  suc- 
ceeded in  maintaining  as  strong  an  appearance  of  judicial 
dubiety  as  Lord  El  don's  wig  itself. 

Then  the  Colonel's  wife  slowly  unwound  from  her  head 
the  scarf  which  at  the  beginning  of  our  story  had  attracted 
the  kind  inter\'ention  of  the  Quartermaster,  and  aroused 
the  suspicions  of  the  Assistant-Surgeon.  He  watched  the 
operation,  and  thought,  "She  still  has  a  pretty  arm,  and 
likes  to  show  it. ' ' 

But  the  Judge- Advocate  saw  something  more.  Slow- 
ly he  rose  and  with  a  profound  bow  said,  "  Madam,  I,  too, 
am  a  believer." 

And  the  Senior  Lieutenant  cried  out,  "Why,  these 
are  the  very  earrings  themselves." 

And  it  was  so. 

But  the  Assistant-Surgeon,  finding  he  was  equally 
wrong  in  both  remarks  and  conjectures,  went  home  and 
resolved  hereafter  to  secure  entire  freedom  from  all  emo- 
tion or  desire  and  spend  the  rest  of  his  life  like  the  monks 
of  Mount  Athos  in  the  search  of  perfection  bj'  contem- 
plating the  pit  of  his  stomach. 

"  Madam,  before  we  go  /  would  like  a  little  informa- 
tion on  one  point." 

This  was  the  Chaplain,  who,  practiced  in  thinking 
by  subdivisions  up  as  high  as  fifteenthly,  was  better  en- 
abled than  most  to  keep  a  firm  hold  upon  any  verbal 
meandering. 

"I  judge  from  something  said  in  the  early  part  of 
your  most  agreeable  continuation  of  the  Colonel's  story, 
that  there  is  a  hiatus,  so  to  speak,  in  the  genealogy  of 
these  earrings.     Is  it  not  so  ?  " 

"I'll  tell  you  next  Christmas." 


•'  Gentle  breath  of  yours  my  sails 
Must  fill,  or  else  my  project  fails, 
Which  was  to  please." 

Tempest. 

"Fahtaff.  Have  you  provided  me  here  half  a  dozen  suflScient  men  ? 
Shallow.  Marrj-  have  we,  sir, 
Fahtaff.  Let  me  see  them,  I  beseech  you. 
Shallow.  Where's  the  roll  ?  where's  the  roll? 
.   .   .   .  Let  them  appear  as  I  call." 

Shakespeare. 


LIST  OF   CONTRIBUTORS: 

Introduction, By  Capt.  CHAS.  KING,  U.  S.  A. 

The  Adjutant's  Story, "   Capt.  CHAS,  KING,  U.  S.  A. 

The  Senior  Lieutenant's  Story,  .  .  .  .   "   Lieut.  THOS.  H.  WILSON,  U.  S.  A. 

The  Senior  Captain's  Story, "  Capt.  EDWAED  FIELD,  U.  S.  A. 

The  Captain's  Story, "   Capt.  HENET  EOMETN,  U.  S.  A. 

The  Colonel's  Daughter's  Story, .  .  .  .   "   Miss  CAEOLINE  F.  LITTLE. 

A  Major's  Story, "   Capt.  W.  0.  BAETLETT,  U.  S.  A. 

The  Quartermaster's  Story, "Mr.  EDWAED  L.  KEYS. 

The  Major's  Story, "   Major  WM.  H.  POWELL,  U.  S.  A. 

A  Guest's  Story, "   ALICE  KING  LIVINGSTON. 

The  Colonel's  Story "  Col.  H.  W.  OLOSSON,  U.  8.  A. 


There  is  no  Nourishment  in  Tea  or  Coffee,  but  Plenty  in 

ESPECIALLY    IN 

VAN  HOUTEN'S 


THE  DRINK   QUESTION. 

The  most  popular  non-intoxicant  is  Cocoa,  which  is  rapidly  supplanting  tea  and  coffee 
as  a  national  beverage.  In  advance  of  all  other  preparations  stands  VAN  HOUTEN'S, 
which  is  universally  declared  to  be  perfectly  pure,  free  from  fat,  easily  digested,  delicious 
to  the  taste,  nutritions,  and  a  stimulant  without  any  depressing  after-effects. 

VAN  HOUTEN'S  COCOA  was  introduced  upon  high  recommendation  into  the 
households,  and  is  used  at  present  at  the  courts  of  many  of  the  Royal  families  in  Europe. 
The  English  journal  of  high  authority  says :  "None  of  the  numerous  Cocoas  have  as 
yet  equalled  this  inventor's  in  solubility,  agreeable  taste,  and  nutritive  qualities.  Its 
purity  is  beyond  question — once  tried,  always  used."  The  senior  physician  of  the 
London  Court  Hospital  has  used  this  brand  of  Cocoa  for  many  years.  It  is  strongly 
recommended  to  Students  and  a//  whose  duties  involve  much  uuear  and  tear,  whether 
Mental  or  Physical.  For  these  reasons  it  has  earned  the  highest  encomiums  of  the 
leading  anaJysts  of  the  day. 

What  shall  we  drink  to  raise  the  spirits  high? 
Van  Hoiiten's  Cocoa!    is  the  universal  cry; 
The  purest  and  most  delicious. 
The  test  and  most  nutritious. 


Van  Houten's  Cocoa, 


Best  and  Goes  Farthest. 


4S~It  only  needs  a  single  trial  to  convince  any  one  of  the  superiority  of  Van  Hon- 
TBn's  Cocoa.  Please  insist  upon  your  grocer  or  storekeeper  ordering  it  for  you.  and 
take  no  substitute.  Put  up  in  one-qu'arter,  onchalf,  and  one  pound  cans.  9S'\^  not 
obtainable,  enclose  25  cents  to  either  Van  Houten  &  ZooN,  106  Re.ade  St.,  New  York, 
or  45  Wabash  Avenue,  Chic  go,  and  a  can  will  he  sent  by  mail,  if  you  mention  this 
publication.     Prepared  only  by  Van  Houtbn  &  ZooN,  Wccsp- Holland. 


Van  Houten's  Cocoa, 


Once  Tried,  Always  Used. 


CHOICE  READING. 

FOLLOWING  THE  GUIDON.  By  Elizaijeth  B.  Custf.r,  author  of 
"Boots  and  Saddles."    Illustrated.    Tost  8vo., Cloth, Ornamental, $1.50. 

All  the  varied  incidoiUs  that  occurred  while  following  the  Guidon  are  related  in  a 
felicitous,  gossipy  m.inncr,  which  holds  our  attention  and  claims  our  interest  from  the 
first  chapter  to  the  last,  and  finally  causes  us  to  wish  that  there  were  still  other  chapters 
to  follow.— i1/a//  and  Express. 

Profoundly  interesting.  The  story  is  told  in  easy,  simple  style.  The  sketches  are 
like  a  scries  of  photographs,  touched  up  with  the  artist  s  brush  to  give  coloring,  and 
revealing  the  camp,  the  march,  and  the  everyday  life. — Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

Few  if  any  writers  of  the  day  have  so  natural  and  unaffected  a  style,  so  generous  a 
fund  of  wholesome  wit,  so  keen  a  sagacity  in  observation  of  men  and  manners,  or  so 
hearty  a  love  for  life  under  primitive  conditions  as  has  Mrs.  Kiizabeth  B.  Custer.  .  .  . 
Every  one,  attracted  by  the  fascinating  unfamiliarity  of  army  life  on  the  plains,  will  be 
glad  to  read  this  volume,  which  may  be  accepted  as  faithful  to  the  facts,  and  which,  from 
beginning  to  end,  has  not  a  dull  line  in  ix..— Boston  Beacon. 

BOOTS  AND  SADDLES:    Life  in  Dakota  with  General  Custer. 

The  Twenty-first  Eifition.  l2mo.,  Extra  Cloth,  $1.50. 
No  better  or  more  satisfactory  life  of  General  Custer  could  have  been  written,  and 
such  a  story  of  truth  and  heroism  as  that  here  told  will  take  a  deeper  hold  upon  the 
popular  mind  and  heart  than  any  work  of  fiction  can.  The  narrative  is  as  vivacious  and 
as  lightly  and  trippingly  given  as  that  of  any  novel.  It  is  enriched  in  everj-  chapter  with 
illustrative  anecdotes  and  incidents,  and  here  and  there  a  little  life  story  of  pathetic 
interest  is  told  as  an  episode. — A^.  Y.  Commercial  Advertiser . 


STORIES  BY  CAPT.  CHARLES  KING. 

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8vo.,  Cloth,  E.xtra,  $1.00. 
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battle. — Saturday  Evening  Gazette,  Boston. 

BETWEEN    THE    LINES.     A  Story  of  the  War.     Illustrated  by 
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honest  hearts  to-day  as  there  were  in  the  days  of  knights  and  paladins.— /'Ai/a<^//Ai<» 

Record.  

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A  delightful  book.     There  is  not  a  dull  chapter  in  it.     It 

is   admirable    for   its   freshness,  vivacity,  versatility  and    its 

permeating  magnetism,  that  touches  a  responsive  chord  in  the 

reader's  heart. — Providence  Journal. 

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WALFORD. 

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